Jonathan Clauss’s candid confessions about his eventful summer

This weekend, Jonathan Clauss got his start with OGC Nice against Toulouse. Found after a double by Hicham Boudaoui, the new number 92 from the Côte d’Azur made a perfect debut for the Gym at the Allianz Riviera. A way for him to find his smile again after a disappointing end to his adventure with OM. Having been pushed towards the exit for months for several reasons, the Strasbourg native was keen to properly launch his adventure with the Aiglons. This Monday, the former RC Lens player returned to the microphone of RMC on his eventful last few months. First, the French international explained why he joined Nice this summer.

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Even if the shortcut can be made with his desire to find Franck Haise who had made him explode in Lens, the 31-year-old player wanted to bring more nuances: “If I joined Nice first and foremost to find Franck Haise? First and foremost, no. But he was definitely part of the equation. Obviously, it’s always easier to arrive at a club where you know the staff. But then, the project is interesting and the staff is too. The ambitions were clear and I think that to continue to flourish in this French championship, it ticked all the boxes. And with Europe, obviously, to continue to exist on the European scene, I think that seemed very important to me. That’s basically why I made this choice.»

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Jonathan Clauss retains the positive from his adventure at OM

Finding a more family-friendly environment that remains ambitious is what motivated the right-winger to join the Promenade des Anglais this summer. A world that can contrast with that of OM where each of his poor performances have been criticized by a very demanding public. In addition, his temperament and the accusations against him concerning false injuries have clearly not improved his image in Marseille. Despite this, Clauss explained that he had wanted to join such a context in the past and that he does not regret this decision. Just like that of leaving the Marseille club which was made in consultation with the management: “afterwards, concerning Marseille, I knew and I wanted to discover this context. Otherwise, I would not have decided to sign there. And despite everything, with a lot of hindsight, I still found a lot of positive things there. We also discussed it with OM, I needed, like them, for an agreement to be reached so that I could find a new challenge. I respected the decisions of Olympique de Marseille without wanting to make a fuss. And in the end, yes it is definitely a new life. It is yet another life, because every time you change clubs you change the atmosphere, you change the context and you change everything. It makes you grow and it makes you evolve. But I find that all of that is ultra-positive. (…) But in the end, with hindsight now, it allowed me to grow, to discover the Champions League, to discover the Europa League. In an ultra-particular context, but which is grandiose despite everything. That’s why I made this choice at that time. I wanted to discover this legendary club.»

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Asked about his decision to join Nice after experiencing such fervour, Clauss explained that he actually wanted to return to a calmer context, more conducive to work, according to him: “Let’s say that it was especially important for me to be able to refocus on work and on why I do this job or why I want to do this job. Of course, things have happened in the past, but it made me grow. And I also needed to find myself in this work on a daily basis. And to be able to flourish completely in another pattern and in another environment. Today I still see it on a daily basis, it does me good. It’s different but that doesn’t mean it was negative in Marseille. It’s just different and precisely, it’s a new challenge, a new step. And I found, as I said, everything I was looking for in Nice so that’s why I wanted to flourish in this project.” Confidences without mincing words which have the merit of being clear.