AFP, Mumbai :
Controversial former French striker Nicolas Anelka has agreed to rejoin Mumbai City FC for the second edition of the Indian Super League, the player and organisers said on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old announced his return as Mumbai’s marquee signing in a short video posted on the Indian side’s YouTube page.
“I’m coming back to Mumbai City FC, see you soon,” said the former Real Madrid, Arsenal, Chelsea and Juventus star.
“He’s back! @MumbaiCityFC have signed Nicolas Anelka for another exciting #HeroISL season,” tweeted the tournament’s official Twitter account.
Anelka endured a difficult return to football at last season’s inaugural Indian Super League after serving a five-match ban for an anti-semitic gesture known as a “quenelle”.
The Frenchman was fired by English side West Bromwich Albion following the gesture and missed Mumbai’s first three matches because of the ban.
He failed to make an impact on his return as Mumbai finished second from bottom of the eight-team tournament.
Anelka won 69 French caps and scored 14 goals in an international career which ended in disgrace when he was thrown out of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa following a row with coach Raymond Domenech.
The ISL is modelled along the lines of cricket’s cash-rich Indian Premier League, with ageing former international greats fronting each team. This year’s edition kicks off in Chennai on October 3.
