Who said footballers weren’t great philosophers? And that their best media releases could not be used in important and official speeches? It’s certainly not Zohran Mamdani.
Friday, the mayor of New York, known to be a very big fan of football, and more particularly of the Arsenal club, used a quote from a footballer to conclude his speech linked to the organization of the 2026 World Cup in his city.
Given the theme covered, taking inspiration from a footballer is entirely appropriate. It is rather the choice of the athlete in question that is surprising. Zohran Mamdani chose to quote a former FC Sion! A player who did not leave good memories in Valais in the person of Mario Balotelli.
He used a famous phrase from the former striker of the Italian team, AC Milan, Olympique Marseille and even Liverpool to discuss security and maintaining order in New York during the tournament.
A postman doesn’t celebrate when he delivers the mail
“I will end with this quote from Mario Balotelli, one of the greatest scorers of recent years: “When I score, I don’t celebrate, because I’m just doing my job. When a postman delivers the mail, does he celebrate? If New York has a successful, safe and trouble-free World Cup, will we celebrate it? No, because we are just doing our job.”
Zohran Mamdani only has to hope for one thing: that Mario Balotelli does not come to New York during the World Cup, when we know the escapades as amazing as they are funny and improbable carried out by the Transalpine in recent years.
The final of the next World Cup will be held in the New York suburbs, at MetLife Stadium, on July 19.
