Nian: I was close to joining Marseille in 2019. At that time, the Chinese club paid me an annual salary of 10 million after tax.

30-year-old Nion is currently in a situation where he has no ball to play. In an interview, he talked about the failure of joining Marseille in the summer of 2019.

He said, "To be honest, in my mind, I was already a Marseille player. I talked to the agent and he asked me if I wanted to go, and I said, 'I think.' Because I remember Marseille gave a quotation of 20 million euros at that time. I also said to Chairman Rennes at that time: 'Since we beat Paris together and won the French Cup, I hope you can help me and let me join Marseille.' He also said that he would never stop me."

"I had some crazy quotes at that time, such as the annual salary after tax provided by Chinese clubs and 5 million from Qatar. I didn't have to calculate these numbers at all. But I only had one thought in my mind: go to Marseille. Because both of my children were born here, My wife is also a Marseille. I thought to myself, ‘Why not? ’ Why not accept this challenge? I have this personality, and Balotelli has done the same, so I thought, ‘Since Balotelli can succeed, I can do it too. ’”

“And I have the same sponsor as Marseille. At the end of the season, I learned that my sneakers had been sent to the training center in Marseille, which is why everyone was talking about whether I was coming. But during this time, Longoria became the chairman of Marseille, and the plan changed a little. At first, I asked me to wait first, but later they signed Mitroglu. I was a little confused at the time, but this was football. It was just... it was supposed to be my chance."