Kays Ruiz-Atil, 23, an attacking midfielder trained at Paris Saint-Germain, spoke at length to RMC Sport. The former Parisian player acknowledges his youthful mistakes, including partying, excesses, and a lack of listening skills, which hindered his progress. Today, he says he wants to get back on track and become the player many predicted at the highest level.
Ruiz-Atil: “I agree with what they said”
“He (Herrera) didn’t say it meanly. I agree with what they said,” the attacking midfielder assured RMC in a long interview. “It’s true that I was young, I did things I shouldn’t have done. After all, most of the people who speak today, if they had been in my shoes when they were younger, they might have done the same thing, or even worse.” Some have done worse, but it didn’t bother anyone. Since I was in the media spotlight at a young age, I’m an easy target.
Ruiz-Atil “I didn’t want to listen”
Herrera and Di Maria said it. I traveled on private jets, I dressed in designer clothes, I went to parties… It’s very hard to resist when you have access to all that and you see everyone saying yes. When I was young, I didn’t want to listen to anyone. My mother and uncle always told me, “Be careful what you do,” but I didn’t want to listen. I just did what I wanted.
People say I was greedy in negotiations, which is completely false. I was never greedy about what I asked for in terms of extensions or about the contracts I signed. The only thing that interested me was the sporting project.
Ruiz-Atil: “It was time to keep a low profile”
His departure from Auxerre
I told myself I had to stop going out and doing anything related to football. I’m someone who has trouble keeping my mouth shut, and when I don’t like something, I say so. But I told myself that now was the time to keep a low profile. So that people would forget me a little.
Ruiz-Atil: “In football, there are a lot of bad people”
I was supposed to leave this summer, but it didn’t happen, almost because of what came out,” Ruiz-Atil regrets. “It had a big impact and affected the discussions we had with certain clubs. Because they think I’m still the same as before. They don’t want to give me a second chance. In football, there are a lot of bad people.
I want to get back to where they predicted I would be.” The second is to be one of the best players in the world. I hope to catch up on my track record.”
Talking about Kays Ruiz-Atil is like evoking a typical case of young talents exposed too early to the harsh glare of professional football. Trained at Paris Saint-Germain, he experienced at a very young age what many players never experience: easy money, incessant demands, and unrealistic expectations. Growing up in this world where anything goes is a challenge.
The temptation is immense, and few are those who don’t let themselves be swept away by excess. When a teenager becomes an “easy target,” they find themselves judged more harshly than others, sometimes condemned for similar mistakes. In this context, Ruiz-Atil’s admission is touching in its sincerity.
His mea culpa proves that he has realized what many never admit: that football can crush a player before they even reach maturity. Recognizing his weaknesses opens the door to possible redemption, and his ambition to become one of the best again offers hope for a second chance, this time on more solid ground.
