• Premier League

Remy insists he never wanted to leave Marseille

Loic Remy wanted to finish the season with Marseille before moving on © Getty Images

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Queens Park Rangers striker Loic Remy has admitted he never wanted to leave Marseille in January, and was "a little disappointed" the Ligue 1 club decided to sell him behind his back.

After initially appearing set to join Newcastle United, Remy, 26, signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with QPR in a €10.5 million move during the winter transfer window.

The switch would never have happened, however, had the France international had a say in his own future.

"I didn't want to leave as a failure," Remy told beIN Sport, referring to his mediocre first half of the Ligue 1 season at the Stade Velodrome, in which he scored a single top-flight goal. "I wanted to finish the season there and then go somewhere else.

"I was taken aback when I saw that the board had made their decision behind my back. When I learned that, I was a little disappointed. They told me at the last minute, that saddened me. Things were great with the rest of the squad."

Remy's contribution to QPR's bid for Premier League survival has been hampered by a groin injury, which left him sidelined for a month from late January.

His last six months at Marseille also saw him more frequently in the treatment room than out on the pitch as he started just ten times in all competitions before moving to west London.

The striker, though, insisted rumours that his injury problems were a consequence of a happy-go-lucky lifestyle were wide of the mark.

"When everything's going well and you're scoring goals, you're the king of the town. You can drive at 340km/h, go to nightclubs, and no-one says anything," he said.

"But as soon as things start going less well, tongues start to wag. But those who are close to me know the kind of person I am. They don't read the press, unlike the supporters, who can only get their information through it."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.