Manchester City fear they will be stuck with Samir Nasri and £12.5m bill as Frenchman ‘faces ban for breaching doping rules’
Nasri in Uefa probe that could lead to two year suspension and leave City lumbered with midfielder's £120,000-a-week wages
MANCHESTER CITY fear being lumbered with unwanted midfielder Samir Nasri - because he is facing the prospect of a doping ban.
Pep Guardiola is desperate to offload the French international having decided he does not fit into his first team plans at the Etihad.
But the club are now worried no-one wants to sign the controversial former Arsenal star, hitting them in the pocket to the tune of £25million.
City are looking to sell Nasri for around £12m, but a ban would cost them that sum plus the £12.5m in wages they are contracted to pay the 30-year-old over the remaining two years of his current deal.
The situation has been caused by the ongoing Uefa investigation into whether Nasri broke doping regulations by undergoing drip-therapy treatment in America.
Nasri, on-loan with La Liga Sevilla at the time, was pictured with the owner of the Los Angeles Drip Doctors clinic, sparking a bizarre social media spat last December.
The clinic tweeted that they have given the player 'an IV drip to keep him hydrated and in top health during his busy soccer season with Sevilla'.
Under World Anti-Doping Agency regulations such sessions are banned in quantities of no greater than 50millilitres in a six hour time-frame - or unless clearance has been given on medical grounds.
If that was the case Nasri would have needed to obtain a Thereputic Use Exemption, and it is unclear if the player had one.
An investigation into his behaviour was launched by Spanish authorities who have now passed it on to Uefa.
After the Drip Doctors tweet, a series of replies from Nasri's social media account claimed he had also enjoyed sexual services - opening the player up to global ridicule.
The City star claimed his account had been hacked, while his relationship with then girlfriend Anara Atanes fell apart.
Jamila Sozahdah, the glamorous physician who set up Drip Doctors with four of her nine sisters, insisted Nasri had not been provided with any sexual services.
Once the row became so public, authorities had no option but to launch a probe to see if anti-doping rules had been broken.
City are still waiting to hear the outcome of the probe, and it appears clubs in China and Turkey are also waiting to learn his fate before following up on their interest in signing him.
Should Nasri be found guilty and be hit with a suspension, City would then be forced to check with lawyers to see if he has breached the terms of his contract with the club.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest transfer news and speculation with our live transfer feed