Cisse: I nearly joined Man City

Djibril Cisse has revealed he nearly signed for Manchester City when Mark Hughes was their manager, before he joined Marseille.

The Frenchman has since teamed up with Hughes in QPR’s relegation battle and the pair are now aiming to seal the club’s Premier League status at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Cisse told The Sun: “I had a talk with (City). It was Mark Hughes who was the manager then. My agent had a discussion at the time but I also had a proposition from Marseille.

“Marseille are a big club and the club that I support, so I have no regrets.”

The striker also confided his close friendship with City midfielder Samir Nasri and admitted that it would be ‘sad’ to prevent him from becoming a Premier League champion.

“We talk nearly every day. I will be sad if he is not a champion but he will have another chance to win a title,” he said.

Cisse added that helping to keep Rangers in the Premier League would rank as one of his best achievements of his career.

“There was the Champions League final (with Liverpool), there was the French Cup final and now there is this game,” he said.

“It would be in the top three of my achievements.”

After being sent off twice in his short spell at Loftus Road, as well as bagging five goals, the striker is desperate to eradicate the frustrations of his on-field indiscipline.

“I don’t want the people at QPR to have these bad memories of me,” Cisse said. “This is a personal mission. It’s up to me to change that.”