TURIN: Serie A minnows Benevento Calcio new recruit Bacary Sagna on Saturday said the football club will give him an opportunity to represent an underdog side after spending his past few years with top teams.
The former Arsenal and Manchester City defender was a free agent after his contract with the latter club expired in June 2017.
The French defender also hailed the club and said while football has merely become a business in the present time, he has got an opportunity to play for a team which still plays with heart and soul.
"My career for the past decade has been at the very top level, what Benevento offers me is the opportunity to represent the underdog and to play for a club whose story is such a beautiful one," Sagna was quoted as saying by Football Italia.
"In an era when football has become more of a business at many clubs than an actual sport, Benevento represents the heart and soul of what a football club should be about. Passion, heart, hope, joy, love and a philosophy that is aligned to that of my own way of thinking in life," the 34-year-old added.
The right-back also revealed that many top clubs offered him since his contract expired at Manchester City but he was waiting to make the right move.
"In the past few months, I have had several offers from clubs in the top leagues in England, France, Spain, Turkey, the MLS and elsewhere in Italy. However, they were not the right moves for myself or my family," Sagna said.
"Going to Benevento is not a move I am making for financial reasons. I could have gone to many other clubs, many of whom made substantial offers to me."