Speedy Mainz star Philippe shines: "Glad to be here" | OneFootball

Rayan Philippe almost ended up at FSV Mainz 05 this summer. But the transfer fell through at the last minute, so he joined HSV instead and shone in the clash against his almost-club.

“It was really close. I had already spoken with coach Bo Henriksen. He’s a very convincing, cool guy and I think he’s a good coach,” reported Rayan Philippe during the week about his contact with FSV Mainz 05. However, the Europa League participant was not willing to invest a transfer fee for his services, which became necessary after securing survival with Eintracht Braunschweig.

HSV stepped in and transferred around 2.5 million euros to their former league rival. An investment that seems to be paying off. Philippe has been gaining more and more momentum in recent weeks and delivered his best performance of the season so far in the 4-0 victory over Mainz. He crowned his performance with two spectacular goals – first with a low shot into the far corner and then with an elegant chip over goalkeeper Lasse Rieß.

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Philippe talks about his goal celebration

After his first goal, the Frenchman ran directly towards a TV camera and formed a telephone with his thumb and little finger, before hanging up and tapping the HSV logo. “That was just to say that the topic is over and I am an HSV player. I wanted to tell the fans: I am an HSV player and very happy to be here,” emphasized Philippe, who also did not have any further exchanges with Mainz officials around the match (via Bild).

Afterwards, Mainz sporting director Niko Bungert was asked again about the attacking player: “We are well aware that he is a very good player. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been interested in him. In general, he is a player who is good on the pitch and a great character.” Ultimately, however, he was probably very frustrated internally on Sunday evening at the Volksparkstadion not to have the unstoppable Philippe in his own ranks.

(Photo: Getty Images)

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.