Goal ! Football Club: Bafé, you are starting your third season in Saudi Arabia with Al Hilal. Are you happy ?
Bafétimbi GOMIS: Not only am I happy but also fulfilled. I am happy to wear the colors of this great club of Al Hilal, the best of the Asian continent. When I came from Galatasaray I was looking for an ambitious club in all competitions. This is the challenge that I had given myself: to win titles. Contrary to what some may think, I am not in pre-retirement in the Gulf …
Last year you finished second best scorer in your championship …
Yes, with 27 goals last year (32 in 38 matches in all competitions, Editor’s note). I also finished top scorer and best player in the Asian Champions League in 2019 (11 goals), best player in the Saudi league … Today, I’m only three goals away from breaking the club’s record. ‘Al Hilal. It’s important for me to come here with the ambition I’ve always had. Even far from Europe, I still play so much with my heart. These are values that I learned in Saint-Etienne and that I also developed in Lyon. I try to live fully and enjoy the last moments of my career. At 35, that takes a lot of work. My lifestyle is very rigorous. I make a lot of sacrifices to stay competitive and be exemplary in the eyes of my partners. This is the price to continue to be competitive.
“Two or three more years to play …”
You have a year and a half of contract left (+ an optional year). Will Al Hilal be your last club?
I don’t set limits for myself. In life, you never know what can happen. My career and my transfers – especially from Saint-Etienne to Lyon – prove it. What is certain is that I will continue to play as long as I have the desire and the legs. So far, I’m happy with my stats. I can’t say if Al Hilal will be my last club but I still have two or three years to play …
Have you started to prepare for your post-career?
No. But it’s true that I meet a lot of people. I have regular conversations with the leaders of AS Saint-Etienne or with those of Olympique Lyonnais. I kept ties. When I hang up the crampons, I will see what is offered to me. In the idea, it will be rather in the organizational chart of a club. I have already received offers from clubs where I have played. I will see in two or three years. Either way, I would make a decision for my own sake and that of my family.
To hear you, if you plan to stay in football, it will not be a retraining of coach …
Honestly, I don’t think I’m coaching. I traveled a lot, I sacrificed a lot. To have a few coaching friends, I know it makes gray hair. It’s not for me … Maybe tomorrow the desire will come to me but today, I do not think of becoming a coach.