Thauvin returns to Champions League with Lens six years after Marseille's group-stage exit

Florian Thauvin returns to the Champions League this Thursday with RC Lens, six years after his last appearance in the competition. The Sang et Or travel to Prague to face Slavia in the opening match of the league phase.

At a press conference, the 2018 World Cup winner admitted he had long doubted he would ever play in the Champions League again: “I’ll be honest, at one point in my career, I wasn’t sure I’d play the Champions League again. Today I’m very proud and honored. I see it as a reward for the work of these past years.” At 33, he says he is approaching the challenge with “a lot of perspective and maturity”.

That perspective is fueled by painful memories. Thauvin notably lived through the 2013-2014 season with Marseille, which finished the group stage with zero points. “I had some quite difficult experiences with Marseille in the Champions League. I think the fact that I’ve matured a bit will allow me to approach these matches differently,” he said.

With 32 European matches played in a Marseille shirt — in both the Champions League and Europa League — the winger is positioning himself as a reference point for a Lens squad with little experience at this level. “We have a squad that is quite young, that isn’t used to playing the Champions League. I’m one of the oldest players. In contexts like this one, I’m going to have an important role to play, that of bringing a lot of serenity, calm and confidence.”