Hatem Ben Arfa’s former agent Frederic Guerra has slammed the ex-Newcastle United man as the ‘biggest waste in football of the 21st century’ - claiming he could have won the Ballon D’Or if he’d have worked harder. The Frenchman spent four seasons at St James’ Park after joining from Marseille, totalling 14 goals and 15 assists in 86 games across all competitions.
He was touted as one of the best young talents in France during his breakthrough at Lyon, but failed to ever fulfil the potential amid a journeyman career that went via Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain, Hull City, Nice, Rennes and Bordeaux. The 35-year-old is currently at Ligue 1 side Lille, where he has made seven appearances since joining in January.
And while the tricky winger produced some moments of magic - not least his mazy dribbles against Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers - he never fulfilled his potential either in the Northeast or anywhere else. And his former agent has slammed the France international for wasting such talent, labelling him as ‘the biggest waste in football of the 21st century’.
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“It's a psychological thing from his childhood. He was king, king, king. He was always told what he deserves but never told to work.” Guerra told French outlet RMC Sport . “I was convinced that I had a player that, if we worked on his mind, would win the Ballon d'Or. He was so talented. It's a huge waste – maybe the biggest waste in football of the 21st century.
“There are plenty of players that were told early on that they would be pearls and still made it. Cristiano Ronaldo became a huge worker early on, Karim Benzema took exactly the same route. It takes work, talent is not enough. But his mentor, Michel Ouazine (advisor and representative) told him that talent was enough.”
The Frenchman spent four seasons at Newcastle before a fallout with Alan Pardew forced the manager to ship him off on loan to Hull City. And that has been a recurring theme of Ben Arfa’s career, with the winger constantly causing trouble and making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
And Guerra went further into his attack on the winger, explaining why such fallouts have been so common during his career.
“He's a boy who never asks you for anything but always makes you feel like you owe him everything. He doesn't give you respect, but he demands respect. He gives the impression of sympathy, empathy, but that's totally false.” The agent added. “He has no filter between his brain and his mouth. Hatem will tell you everything he thinks – with force. It's intolerable for a locker room, a president, an institution. Everything revolves around him.
“If he made a difference like [Kylian] Mbappe at PSG... But he doesn't do that with Lille, and he won't do it with his next club. And there will be a next one. There will always be someone who believes that they are up to the challenge of managing Hatem.
“I don't want to be too harsh on him because, despite the fact that he p*ssed me off for four years, I was very attached to him. Hatem is 35 now, but he'll be 17 years old all his life. He's a child.”
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