Advent Calendar

14th December

                  

I: Are you excited to play this game today?

P: It's always a great time at Stamford Bridge and I want to be at my best today, not only for my teammates but also for the fans. We haven't played that well this season so far, so we want to get back to the head of the table.

I: Is your family going to come to the match?

P: Yes, my wife Natacha, as well as my children Yannis and Leo have flown over from Belgium yesterday and will attend today's game.

I: So you have been here at Chelsea since 2012, do you ever think about leaving the club, experience something new, maybe a new league?

P: Actually, no I'm happy here in London and also with the team. There hasn't been a single day I regretted coming here and staying for here. Also my contract is still going till 2020 so I don't think there will be any changes in my life any soon. But you know what they say, you don't even know what's going to be tomorrow in football. I could get injured during the game today, maybe I'm not able to continue. Maybe I play so well that I get an offer from one of the other big teams here in Europe. Who knows?

I: Right. So you are playing mostly on the left wing. Who would you love the most to play with?

P: I think everyone would say Messi at this point, and I do too but I wouldn't choose Cristiano Ronaldo, I like strikers like Thomas Müller or Luis Suarez more, because they are more aggressive.

I: In the last few weeks many people criticized Jose Mourinho. What do you say about your current situation when you look at the table right now?

P: Well, whenever I look at the table I ask myself what has happened over the summer, I mean just last year we won both, the league and the cup, and now we are in the lower half of the table. I really hope that we will win games again, but it's not Mourinho's fault. Football is a team sport so everyone is at fault here and we have to work together to get back to the top.

I: So the rumours that you want to leave are not true?

P: I think it would be a horrible move right now. Just because we aren't doing that well at the moment I can't just leave my team hanging. If everyone would do that whenever their team was bad, we wouldn't have many teams. I mean if you look at Barca, they also had a shitty beginning but now they are top of the table again and even won the El Clasico. So no the rumours are not true.

I: Last question for today. You are also playing for the Belgium national team which is now number one on the FIFA World ranking. What do you think about it?

P: It's amazing but I think it's just well-deserved since we have worked really hard this past years and now we finally get rewarded. Well if this is all I will go get ready for the match.

I: Goodbye and good luck.