Paul-Georges Ntep has had a thunderous start to his career! The one who lived his best life as a footballer in Auxerre, then in Rennes, did some freelance work in St-Etienne before getting lost in less and less flashy clubs. Today he announced the end of his football career on France Bleu Armorique.
Whether at Auxerre or Rennes, Ntep left the memory of a very effective and formidable attacker. It was there that he joined the French selection for a few matches, before turning to the Indomitable Lions. His departure to Wolfsburg, however, marks the start of problems as he conceded in Le Parisien 6 years ago: “When I arrived, coach Valérien Ismaël wanted to take me to the level I wanted to go, but he was dismissed from his position a month and a half later. Then, there was a lot of instability, moments of incomprehension, the discovery of a new country. I left with a lot of desire, good intentions, curiosity… and it went less well than in Rennes. Obviously, that puts a blow in the back of the head.
I have often been criticized for my behavior, it's true, but sometimes I don't understand, I don't try to put others down, I'm just demanding of myself. This has never been a problem for me. I've already been told to be careful, it's true. But no coach said to me, 'You're doing sh…' before kicking me off the team because of my behavior.”
An unconvincing move to ASSE for Ntep…
The change of scenery was inevitable and came in January 2018 when Gasset succeeded Julien Sablé. Arriving during the famous XXL transfer window led under the orders of the former deputy of Laurent Blanc, Paul-Georges Ntep did not shine under the Saint-Etienne colors. With only one small goal in 13 appearances for only 506 minutes in Green, the former Auxerre nugget failed to relaunch his career at ASSE despite a coach who trusted him and a team which was going very strong.
The beginning of an explanation is given by Ntep himself who testified upon his arrival with the Greens: “I have a 30 cm rod in each leg. A foreign body that I have to keep for my entire career, to help solidify the bone. The brain and the body, they feel it. Sometimes, it's hard. But Now, I need to move on. It's been two years now, it's behind me.”
“I have a 30 cm rod in each leg”
Loaned by Wolfsburg, Ntep returned there and champed at the bit before leaving for Turkey at Kayserispor, then moving on to Guingamp, Boavista and finally to China. While he played very little and scored only one goal for Ho Chi Minh City FC, Ntep announced his retirement this morning:
“My career, for me, is over. I have moved on to something else in my head and I have other projects. I appreciated what I experienced, I appreciated Vietnam. But for For me, football today is just good memories but it's over. I have entrepreneurial projects, these are personal development projects and opening companies, doing concrete things In the Rennes region. , I can't say if it will come right away, but within one to two years, I would like to open something here, yes.”
An end to his career at only 32 years old, however, the body and the head were no longer keeping up and Ntep had perhaps already turned the page for some time…
