Dear Reds,
First of all I'd like to apologise for deserting you all last season when I moved to Greece on loan. The decision was out of my hands. I know I was missed and I guarantee I missed you, the fans, and the club.
I'm sure you will understand. I know many of you have been waiting to hear from me since I left for Spain yesterday, and the time has come for me to express my feelings.
I would rather this be a letter of thanks and gratitude, not simply a goodbye.
Yes, thats right, gratitude, because that is the word that best sums up my feelings for you all.
Taking the decision to change clubs hasn't been easy. Not easy at all.
I've experienced many fantastic years at the club and in the city. Many years in which together, the fans and the team, we have accomplished some fantastic achievements, and I'm sure that these successes will continue to be repeated in the near future.
You know that I like a challenge and that I don't just settle for second best. The only time I settled for second best was when Leo Messi pipped me to the title of best player in the world. It was an honour to finish 2nd behind Messi.
Liverpool Football Club gave me the opportunity to be part of an ambitious plan to put the Reds back at the summit of the game.
I think that together we managed to achieve that and, although I was not a regular in the team, I know I played my part. I also know that you, the fans, appreciate the role I played. Do you remember that goal I scored against Cardiff? Or the one against Prescot Cables in the Lancashire Senior Cup? These are great memories I will take with me to Spain.
Now, after some seasons in the Premier League and having won lots of games with the reserves, the chance came up for me to move to La Liga and be part of a new project at a club I respect.
The idea of enjoying things in a Spanish club like we experienced together at Liverpool over these last three years appealed to me, and thats why I accepted the offer.
I want to thank everyone working at Liverpool Football Club for how well they have treated both my family and I, making us feel at home from the very first day to the last.
I also want to thank the management, coaching staff and directors for the opportunity they gave me back then to be part of such an important and well-loved club as Liverpool. A club which has helped me to grow as a footballer and where to date I have enjoyed the biggest success of my career. Well, as well as my spell on loan with PAOK, where I made twelve memorable appearances.
Without a doubt, this success has been possible thanks to the outstanding group of players with whom Ive been able to share a dressing room over the last few seasons.
I'm not going to mention anyone specifically, because I think that the secret of this team's success has been exactly that: nobody wanted to stand out above the rest and there has always been a great togetherness in the squad, which made it into something more than a group of players, it was a group of friends.
Thanks to all of you for your help and your friendship.
I've left until last the thank you which for me is the most important: Thank you to the supporters.
Your support allowed me to settle quickly at both the club and in the city, and you made me feel really at ease with you all right from the word go; that's the kind of help that you notice most of all during the difficult times, of which there have been a few during my time here.
I'd like to especially thank you for making up a song for me and you should know that whenever I dreamed of hearing it, it was like an extra injection of strength and motivation, even helping me to overcome pain occasionally during a game. I did not hear the song as it turned out, but I know you had one for me.
Your unconditional support is the thing that ensures that this team manages to pull through in the most difficult circumstances; and I can assure you that the whole squad is aware of this and thanks you for it.
A football club isn't just made up of players, coaches and directors. More than anything else it's the supporters who make a club, and that perhaps is the ingredient which best distinguishes Liverpool Football Club from every other team. The supporters.
Because if one thing has remained obvious to me after these few years, it's that with supporters like you, Liverpool Football Club will never walk alone.
I really hope that the club wins lots of major trophies in the future; I'll be following it all from a distance, wearing my LFC bobble hat and with the pride that you can only get from having been a Red and played for the home team at Anfield – a ground that every football fan must visit at least once in their life.
Thank you for everything. Yours most sincerely,
Your best friend forever, Nabil El Zhar.
First of all I'd like to apologise for deserting you all last season when I moved to Greece on loan. The decision was out of my hands. I know I was missed and I guarantee I missed you, the fans, and the club.
I'm sure you will understand. I know many of you have been waiting to hear from me since I left for Spain yesterday, and the time has come for me to express my feelings.
I would rather this be a letter of thanks and gratitude, not simply a goodbye.
Yes, thats right, gratitude, because that is the word that best sums up my feelings for you all.
Taking the decision to change clubs hasn't been easy. Not easy at all.
I've experienced many fantastic years at the club and in the city. Many years in which together, the fans and the team, we have accomplished some fantastic achievements, and I'm sure that these successes will continue to be repeated in the near future.
You know that I like a challenge and that I don't just settle for second best. The only time I settled for second best was when Leo Messi pipped me to the title of best player in the world. It was an honour to finish 2nd behind Messi.
Liverpool Football Club gave me the opportunity to be part of an ambitious plan to put the Reds back at the summit of the game.
I think that together we managed to achieve that and, although I was not a regular in the team, I know I played my part. I also know that you, the fans, appreciate the role I played. Do you remember that goal I scored against Cardiff? Or the one against Prescot Cables in the Lancashire Senior Cup? These are great memories I will take with me to Spain.
Now, after some seasons in the Premier League and having won lots of games with the reserves, the chance came up for me to move to La Liga and be part of a new project at a club I respect.
The idea of enjoying things in a Spanish club like we experienced together at Liverpool over these last three years appealed to me, and thats why I accepted the offer.
I want to thank everyone working at Liverpool Football Club for how well they have treated both my family and I, making us feel at home from the very first day to the last.
I also want to thank the management, coaching staff and directors for the opportunity they gave me back then to be part of such an important and well-loved club as Liverpool. A club which has helped me to grow as a footballer and where to date I have enjoyed the biggest success of my career. Well, as well as my spell on loan with PAOK, where I made twelve memorable appearances.
Without a doubt, this success has been possible thanks to the outstanding group of players with whom Ive been able to share a dressing room over the last few seasons.
I'm not going to mention anyone specifically, because I think that the secret of this team's success has been exactly that: nobody wanted to stand out above the rest and there has always been a great togetherness in the squad, which made it into something more than a group of players, it was a group of friends.
Thanks to all of you for your help and your friendship.
I've left until last the thank you which for me is the most important: Thank you to the supporters.
Your support allowed me to settle quickly at both the club and in the city, and you made me feel really at ease with you all right from the word go; that's the kind of help that you notice most of all during the difficult times, of which there have been a few during my time here.
I'd like to especially thank you for making up a song for me and you should know that whenever I dreamed of hearing it, it was like an extra injection of strength and motivation, even helping me to overcome pain occasionally during a game. I did not hear the song as it turned out, but I know you had one for me.
Your unconditional support is the thing that ensures that this team manages to pull through in the most difficult circumstances; and I can assure you that the whole squad is aware of this and thanks you for it.
A football club isn't just made up of players, coaches and directors. More than anything else it's the supporters who make a club, and that perhaps is the ingredient which best distinguishes Liverpool Football Club from every other team. The supporters.
Because if one thing has remained obvious to me after these few years, it's that with supporters like you, Liverpool Football Club will never walk alone.
I really hope that the club wins lots of major trophies in the future; I'll be following it all from a distance, wearing my LFC bobble hat and with the pride that you can only get from having been a Red and played for the home team at Anfield – a ground that every football fan must visit at least once in their life.
Thank you for everything. Yours most sincerely,
Your best friend forever, Nabil El Zhar.
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