‘It drives me crazy’ – Cisse offers to play for free to reach 100 Ligue 1 goals

Djibril Cisse says he would play for free if a Ligue 1 side would sign him in order to reach 100 goals in the division.

The former France international, now 38, has 96 Ligue 1 goals to his name and says the figure haunts him.

Cisse announced his retirement from football in 2015 due to injury, but has since returned to represent Swiss side Yverdon and Italian minnows Vicenza 1902.

“You know how it is with goalscorers,” Cisse told SoFoot .

“We love goals, we love hitting milestones; 25, 50, 75… for me, it’s the landmark of 100 that haunts me, I’ve been stuck on 96 since I stopped.

“I am missing four goals and it gets to me, it drives me crazy!

“I want to come back to Ligue 1 to get them. If a club takes me, I can get them in two or three months.

“I’m pretty stubborn; when I have a goal, I do everything to reach it.

“I’m ready to come back and play for free, without pay, so there isn’t much of a risk for them. For the moment, I’m not in advanced talks with anybody but I hope that clubs will appear.”

Cisse left Ligue 1 at the end of the 2014-15 season following a brief spell with Bastia, which brought six league goals in 27 appearances.

While he also added 24 to his tally during a productive spell at Marseille between 2006 and 2008, the majority of Cisse’s Ligue 1 goals came at his first club, Auxerre.

He bagged an impressive 70 league goals in 128 league appearances for Auxerre, earning himself a move to Liverpool in 2004 after twice topping the division’s scoring charts.

In a colourful club career, Cisse also turned out for the likes of Panathinaikos, Sunderland, Lazio, Queens Park Rangers and Kuban Krasnodar.

He won the 2002-03 Coupe de France with Auxerre, a trio of trophies – FA Cup, Champions League and UEFA Super Cup – with Liverpool, and a Greek league and cup double with Panathinaikos.

Cisse also scored nine goals in 41 games for France, and was a member of their victorious 2003 Confederations Cup squad.