‘Maybe I got on people’s nerves’ – OGC Nice’s Jonathan Clauss on giving up the armband

When OGC Nice walked out against Lille OSC just before the international break, it was a surprise to see Axel Witsel leading the team and wearing the captain’s armband. A change in captaincy had not been announced, but Jonathan Clauss, who had worn the armband in the wake of Dante’s retirement over the summer, had seemingly renounced or lost the role.

Olivier Pantaloni revealed after the 2-1 win over Lille OSC that it was Clauss who decided to renounce the captaincy. The France international, who netted the winner in Sunday’s 2-1 win over RC Strasbourg Alsace, has now explained his decision. “It wasn’t a weight on me. I am committed, as I have to be, armband or not,” began Clauss in a mixed zone interview attended by Get French Football News.

“I think it was about communication. I have always been like that, a bit of a pain, demanding of myself and also of others, and the armband could have leaned on that demanding side. I maybe got on people’s nerves,” he added.

Clauss added that there was no incident as such but that it was his “feeling” that this was perhaps the case inside the dressing room. The former Olympique de Marseille defender has said that, since Witsel, a summer arrival, inherited the armband, “communication has been healthier”.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle – reporting from Nice