Mathieu: Barca shirt helps me

Jeremy Mathieu has spoken of how wearing a Barcelona shirt has helped him in regard to the French national team.

The 29-year-old was signed from Valencia in the summer and feels that now he is a Barca player people are beginning to take more notice of him, particularly in his home country.

“Obviously I am the same player who was at Valencia, but after five years there I could have some great games and it wouldn’t have made any impact [on being selected for France],” asserted Mathieu in an interview with Le Parisien.

“Instead, after I arrived at Barcelona I had the feeling that people were not looking at me in the same way. Now I want to play some great games for Barca so I am selected for the next squad.”

Mathieu performed well in France’s 1-1 draw with Serbia at the weekend and believes that Les Bleus are now a more cohesive unit.

“I knew the French team when things were more difficult, yet when I arrived at [training headquarters] Clarefontaine this week I felt that something had changed.

“It was said during the World Cup that this group was more together and I’ve seen that with my own eyes over the past few days,” he added.

Tags France Les Bleus Mathieu
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