Nabil Bahoui’s career took him across Sweden, Germany, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia. But it could have included one of the most extraordinary Premier League stories as well.
Speaking on Fotbollsmorgon, the former AIK winger revealed that he turned down a move to Leicester City in 2015, the year the Foxes shocked the world by winning the Premier League.
Leicester City regret
Nabil Bahou had just scored 14 goals for AIK in the 2014 Allsvenskan and was attracting interest from abroad. Leicester had just survived in the Premier League after spending much of the season in relegation trouble.
However, a run of seven wins in their last nine games saw them secure a 14th placed finish and another year in the top flight.
Bahoui was aware of how their season had gone, and he didn’t see how it would fit.
“I checked the app,” he said.
“They were newcomers then and I thought we would just chase. They had no possession and barely managed. I pushed hard that it needed to be a team that had a lot of ball that I would go to. So, it was a no.”
A year later, Leicester were Premier League champions. Claudio Ranieri arrived that same summer and the miracle begun.
He led his team to the most unlikely title success, after being rated at 5000/1 odds before the season started. Now, Bahoui openly admits the decision still stings.
“There are many who say, ‘I don’t regret much’. But I actually regret that I turned down Leicester’s golden years.”
Premier League miss to new coaching path
Instead of Leicester. Nabil Bahoui moved to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, before bounding around several leagues before returning to Sweden.
Now 33-years-old, he’s announced his retirement as he plans to transition to coaching at Brommapojkarna. It marks the start of a new chapter of an interesting story that was almost even more special.
Instead, he can only look back with regret, although he isn’t the only one feeling that way about Leicester’s unlikely title win.