Yann M'Vila: I took Sunderland shun 'very, very badly'

Sunderland was a 'magical' time, says Yann M'Vila, but he is still saddened by the way the club rejected him.

Yann M’Vila has opened up on his ‘magical’ time at Sunderland – and the heartbreak he felt at being shunned at the end of it.

M’Vila spent a season on loan at Sunderland, making 40 appearances for the Black Cats under Dick Advocaat and Sam Allardyce.

However, when Allardyce left to take over at England, a pre-agreed deal to make his move permanent fell through with replacement David Moyes not wanting the Frenchman, and it still hurts him today.

“The club wanted to keep me,” M’Vila told Libération. “I’d signed a pre-contract and I left it to those in charge to talk with Kazan.

“A few days later, I learned they were signing Didier Ndong from Lorient for €17m. I’m not going to lie, I took it very, very badly. I had come to London to sign with them the last day of the transfer window. I trusted what I’d been told.”

In terms of his time at Sunderland in general, M’Vila only has great memories and still feels a special bond with the club’s supporters.

“Magical,” M’Vila replied when asked how his time at Sunderland was. “In England, football is the joie de vivre.

“Sunderland were playing for a spot between 15th and 20th, but in reality, you’re playing Champions League football every day, with people who applaud you when you get thrashed by a big team.

“The pitches, the fans… One day, in the Tyne and Wear derby, we beat Newcastle 3-0, which is very important for the fans, such is the strength of the rivalry between the two clubs.

“On the third goal, the fans come on the pitch, hug us, but the game isn’t over. So the fans returned to the stands and sat on their seats. You only see that over there. They wrote a song for me!”

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