Mathieu Bodmer opened up about his turbulent transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in Histoires de Foot, a podcast on YouTube. The former midfielder, who came through the SM Caen academy, revealed how in 2010 he risked everything to join his boyhood club — even threatening to quit football altogether if Lyon refused to let him go.
Bodmer: “I said, like every year, I’ve got PSG.”
“In my head, things weren’t right — I needed to leave. They asked me, ‘Do you have something?’ I said, like every year, I’ve got PSG.
They’d stayed in touch with me since I was 11, more or less depending on the period. It was before the Qatari era — I spoke with Antoine Kombouaré, Alain Roche and president Robin Leproux. They were happy but didn’t really understand my decision.”
“My first conversation with Antoine on the phone went like this: ‘My big guy,’ that’s how he called me, ‘I don’t mind if you come, but I don’t get it — you’re at Lyon, one of the best clubs in France, and we’re struggling a bit.’
I explained that I wanted to wear that shirt, that it was a dream of mine… And since he’s a PSG fan himself, he understood. He told me we’d find a way.”
Bodmer: “They didn’t want me to go to Paris.”
“But it was even harder than leaving Lyon, because they didn’t want me to go to Paris.
The story takes place during the 2010 World Cup. We were supposed to return on June 14, while PSG’s preseason started on July 2.
When I went on holiday at the end of May, I thought it would be sorted quickly. I had one year left on my contract, Lyon wouldn’t ask for much, and PSG were ready to pay a small fee.”
“But nothing happened. On the 13th, I called my agent and said, ‘You know preseason starts tomorrow — do I still have to go?’ He said yes. So I went.
I didn’t even have a kit with my name on it, and everyone thought I was gone. But I was still part of the squad. They said I’d signed for Paris and so on.
So I did the preseason with Lyon until the end of June.”
Bodmer: “You can fine me all you want — I’m done.”
“After two weeks, I cracked. Before the training camp, I went to see the coach and said, ‘For me, it’s simple — I’m giving back the club car, taking my stuff, and tomorrow I’m on the train to Paris. Either you let me sign for PSG, or I go back to Évreux and quit football.’
I wasn’t trying to pressure them — I was just telling them what I was going to do. You can fine me all you want; I’m done, I’m not coming back.
If you don’t want me to go to Paris, fine — but then I’m quitting the game.’”
“It was either I finished in Paris, or I stopped playing. They understood how determined I was. It still took three or four more days in Paris to finalize the deal — negotiations, faxes back and forth…”
Bodmer: “I was happy, free — my name and number at the Parc des Princes.”
“Meanwhile, Lyon kept fining me — which was fair, no problem. I lost a day’s salary every day.
After four days, it got done. I signed on July 2, and PSG’s preseason started that afternoon.
I’d struggled for three weeks, and they hadn’t even resumed training yet. That’s how I arrived in Paris — happy, free, my name and number at the Parc des Princes.
I’d been a PSG supporter since I was a kid. It was different. I felt like I’d completed the game. My career finally made sense.”
Bodmer: “I felt like I’d won in the end — I just wanted to do it once in my life.”
I felt like I’d won in the end. Whatever happened next, I just wanted to do it once in my life. I did it. Then I just had to play. Worst case, I already had my shirt with my name and the PSG badge. It was a proud moment for me, my family — everyone was happy.”
“With all due respect to the other clubs — only people born in Marseille can understand that feeling, or the Parisians who came through PSG’s academy, or the guys from Lyon who play for Lyon. I loved my time elsewhere — Nice, Lille, they were fantastic — but it’s not the same.
