Marouane Fellaini responds after incorrect announcement of his retirement: “Return to Belgium? Not what I’m thinking about, but I don’t close doors”

Marouane Fellaini (35) has responded extensively to our colleagues from ‘La Dernière Heure’ about the statements made by his coach at his Chinese club Shandong Taishan that he would stop playing football. Fellaini is indeed leaving the club, but wants to take a look at all offers after a holiday. “Maybe I will continue for another year or two,” said the former Red Devil.

“It’s a misunderstanding, I haven’t made that decision yet,” Marouane Fellaini said La Dernière Heure. “I plan to finish the season first, then I will go on holiday and take time to analyze all the offers. I have several offers, including one from Europe.”

The Shandong Taishan coach also claimed that Fellaini needs two days to recover from a match these days. “He can say what he thinks about me, I know I feel very good. You can check my statistics: I play my matches and I never ask for a substitution. Whether I recover for one or two days, if I perform at a good level, does it really matter?”

“The machine is aging, but I take good care of myself. I adapt my training with more recovery, more time in the gym and less time on the field. This keeps me fresh in the competitions. Doing one less field training session has no impact on your body.”

“As long as the machine is willing to go along, there is no reason to stop. Maybe I’ll continue for another year or two. Like I said, I have several offers, but I’ll take my time to think about them. I still have four games left with Shandong and then I’m going on holiday.”

La Dernière Heure wanted to know from Fellaini whether he is open to a return to Belgium. This was his response: “Like I said, I don’t close doors. We’ll see if any offers come in, but to be honest I’m not thinking about it at the moment.”

Hopes that the Courtois case will be resolved

Fellaini also returned to the Red Devils, for which he played 87 international matches. He said goodbye before Euro 2020 and has no regrets.

“It was time for me to stop. From the moment I left for China, it was over for me. They understood and respected my choice,” said Fellaini. “The current team is still very good and there will always be talent in Belgium. What this generation needs is to grow together in big tournaments, like we did back then. The Courtois case? That’s too bad. I don’t know all the ins and outs, but it is clear that it would be better for the country if the matter with Thibaut were resolved. I hope it works.”