Samir Nasri and the Drip Doctors: Football's wildest social media storm

Nasri managed to stay relatively injury-free for his first three seasons at City before suffering a spate of different issues during the 2014-15 campaign. A hamstring problem then ruled him out for most of the following season, during which he required extensive treatment on what ought to have been a routine recovery.

"The original estimate by the doctors was that I'd be out for between four to six months and the surgeon told me the same, but I've already done two months and I'm targeting the international break in March to be back properly with the squad," Nasri said in January 2016. "With this injury I had to have an operation that resulted in nearly 100 stitches in my thigh. My surgeon told me this was a rare injury as the muscle had detached from the bone and the tendon was also 90 percent detached and had to be stitched back together so it was something that doesn't happen very often."

By the time he returned to full fitness at the start of 2016-17, a new age had begun. Pep Guardiola had been installed as City manager and Kevin De Bruyne was the team's creator-in-chief, leaving a depleted Nasri to seek opportunities elsewhere.

At the very end of the summer 2016 transfer window, Nasri joined Sevilla on a season-long loan. The Andalusian side had just appointed highly-rated Argentine Jorge Sampaoli as their new head coach, and he was intent on creating a team for the purists. Nasri was perfect for that.

The Spanish media raved over Nasri's debut, during which he covered the second-most distance in a 2-1 win over Las Palmas. The slower style of La Liga football suited Nasri, whose burst of pace had been almost totally nerfed at this point. As long as he was fit, which was more often than not, the playmaker was almost a guaranteed starter, be that as a No.10 or on the wing.

Sampaoli's Sevilla went into La Liga's Christmas break third in the table, one place above Champions League finalists Atletico Madrid. Talk of a surprise title charge didn't sound crazy, either. Los Nervionenses had substance and style, even if keeping up with the powerhouses of Real Madrid and Barcelona would prove too tough a challenge.

That winter, however, Nasri's career changed forever. And not for the better.

Nasri spent his mid-season break in Los Angeles, during which time he visited the 'Drip Doctors' clinic. He was supposedly looking to receive a simple injection of vitamins, later clarifying he even had a prescription for the session after falling ill. Some testimonies claim this was recommended to him by his ex-girlfriend Dr Sarabjit Anand, who was based in Maryland.

Drip Doctors were delighted to welcome a name like Nasri and wanted to shout to the world that he had visited. A tweet from December 27, 2016 from their official account read: "We provided [Nasri] a concierge Immunity IV Drip to keep him hydrated and in top health during his busy soccer season with Sevilla." A picture of Nasri with founder and CEO Jamila Sozahdah was attached.

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It all seemed pretty inconspicuous. If Nasri wanted to go and receive this sort of medical treatment in his spare time, that was his business. But then all hell broke loose.

In a series of tweets that were deleted not too long after they were posted, Nasri - or at least the person with access to his account, later insisting he had been hacked - claimed he was "also provided a full sexual service too right after". The account called Sozahdah a "w****" that "comes and f**** the same night" and wrote in another post: "Please tell the world as well of the other concierge treatment your girl gave straight after the iv drip."

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The absurdity of these posts led people to believe Nasri wasn't actually the person writing these tweets, with some quickly pointing to the possibility of a vengeful lover. Indeed, he had supposedly been in hot water with girlfriend of four years Anara Atanes in the weeks leading up to this episode, and she was the next person to be dragged into the posts.

"Sorry guys I just had to let the world know that my girlfriend Anara who was with me at the time had booked this girl to give me an iv drip," and "On arrival Anara had left the room and this girl had asked for my number and to go out with me that night. She then continued to give me..." were the tweets that followed, though some of these entries were being destroyed almost as quickly as they went up. "Unfortunately my twitter keeps deleting tweets. But just letting you boys know if u are in the la area and feeling lonely msg @DripDoctors" recognised this.

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There then appeared to be a back-and-forth between the owner of the account and the person who had supposedly hacked into it. In an attempt to prove his innocence, Nasri tweeted: "Someone hacked my account and tried to spread rumors which is fake I am sorty for all the ppl involved in that i apologies." This was then followed by: "Everything i said was 100 percents facts. The girl in the picture jamilah. Came to my hotel room at 3 am and continued other services... That dont come on their menu."

At that point, the Drip Doctors account thought it would be best to dispel these allegations. "[Nasri's] account has been HACKED and the recent tweets about @dripdoctors are all FALSE, this will be confirmed shortly. Thanks," was their own tweet. But the person behind Nasri's profile had the final say on the matter that fateful evening.

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"Did jamilah not come to the club and then my hotel room at 3am?" was the question posed by Nasri's account in response. "Im just trying to promote the amazing service of @DripDoctors and the services that come after too... And how you f*** all ur clients on the same day as giving them an iv drip," was the final post of the saga that night.

And if you don't believe all of these tweets weren't actually posted, you can still view this article from GOAL with actual screenshots from in the moment. This really happened!

To this day, both Nasri and Atanes, whom he officially split with in the aftermath of this tale, deny responsibility for the posts. His former model girlfriend would later say publicly: "That wasn't me. If I need to say anything it will come from my mouth."

There were doubts over Atanes' claim, however, given her past discretions. When Nasri was left out of France's 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup, she wrote on social media: "F*** France and f*** [Didier] Deschamps! What a s*** manager! Lets just get this straight! Im not mad i get my bf for 2 months…. I just think there's a level of respect to be had!" The midfielder himself even had to publicly calm her down for this outburst, replying: "Love you, don't get upset, life sometimes is unfair. You've just got to accept it and deal with it."

Regardless, no one has ever owned up to causing the storm.

Naturally, Drip Doctors and CEO Sozahdah weren't happy to be in the news for all the wrong reasons. They released an official statement a few days on from the incident.

"Jamila Sozahdah, founder & CEO of Drip Doctors, is Board Certified Physician Assistant with a proven track record of providing healthful immunotherapy boosts to an extensive A-list clientele," the statement read, denying the "false allegations".

"Ms. Sozahdah founded Drip Doctors with two premier doctors in their field on staff, as well as a team of qualified nurses, and together they deliver professional health services across Southern California in their Downtown Los Angeles clinic. As well, Drip Doctors offer their services via house calls for high profile clients requiring the utmost privacy.

Drip Doctors has developed an exclusive range of boosters for clients with uncompromising demands in health, energy, beauty, and athletic performance. As a proud CEO of a flourishing business, and thriving female entrepreneur, Ms Sozahdah adheres to uncompromising standards for the health of her clients and the success of Drip Doctors.

"This week, Ms Sozahdah was dragged into an unfortunate incident involving libelous accusations sent on the hacked social media account of Samir Nasri, after administering a standard treatment on the soccer star. Ms Sozahdah would like to address head on this unfortunate incident of cyber-bullying: all Drip Doctors services are professional health services, administered by a professional team, and all insinuations otherwise are nothing more than libelous attacks.

"All too often, women are subject to online harassment, and for cyber trolls, insinuations of sexual impropriety are as easy way to ruin a successful woman’s career. Jamila Sozahdah and the entire Drip Doctors team stand by their professional medical services and refuse to be bullied. The entire team looks forward to continuing providing cutting edge medical services to its extraordinary clientele."

While Nasri was having to deal with the fallout of this remarkable story in his personal life, this activity also caught the attention of the Spanish Anti-Doping Agency, who were concerned that his treatment was in breach of World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) rules.

As it turned out, it was. Nasri was hit with a six-month ban in February 2018, which was later extended to 18 months that summer, though was backdated to July 2017 and only kept him out of competitive action until November 2018.

"The player Samir Nasri has been found guilty for using a prohibited method in accordance with sub-section M2, par. 2 of the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) prohibited list," UEFA said at the time. "In this context, the CEDB (control, ethics and disciplinary body) has decided to suspend Samir Nasri for six months for violation of the World Anti-doping Code and the UEFA anti-doping regulations."

By this point, Nasri's career was already spiralling out of control. He infamously picked up a red card for a supposed head-butt on Jamie Vardy during Sevilla's Champions League elimination at the hands of Leicester City in March 2017, and that was effectively the end of his time at the very top level.

Nasri made his return to football with Turkish side Antalyaspor for the 2017-18 season following the expiry of his Man City contract, while his relationship with Sevilla fell apart and he was not offered a return to Spain. He played only eight times in Turkey before a short-lived stint with West Ham the following campaign, before reuniting with former City team-mate Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht for 2019-20, the final year of his career before retiring a year later aged 34.

On several occasions, Nasri has pointed to the Drip Doctors fiasco as the reason why his playing days became numbered.

"I was on holiday with my family. I became ill, I had a virus. I did not leave my room, I was suffering from vomiting, big headaches, I was empty," Nasri said to L'Equipe in 2019. "I called a friend and told him to find me a doctor. He couldn't. He said to me: 'There is a clinic, it will re-boost you'. Especially as I was going back to Sevilla in two days' time.

"I said OK. I didn't know the rules. And that, by the way, should serve as a lesson to all young players, to properly read the anti-doping rules, to really pay attention, because everything can go in a completely different direction. To be honest, I did not think that anything would come of it. This woman came to give me a drip of vitamins. She asked for a photo, I said yes, for me I hadn't done anything wrong.

"I was of the view that this was not a doping product, it was fine. Can I promise that I have never doped? Yes, I have handed over the files, there was no doping product in it."

Nasri's exile from Sevilla also deeply upset him, believing his tailing form in the second half of 2016-17 was down to the looming threat of a doping ban.

"I was destroyed because I thought I was going to be banned for two years. I didn't want to play any more after that," he said on Instagram in 2020. "I even told Sampaoli to leave me out, but he always wanted me to play. I was lost, I was anxious and angry with everything. I didn't show it on the pitch but football was over for me.

"Sampaoli liked me so much that he said to me, 'Come to our team, you can drink, go to nightclubs, do what you want and I’ll cover your back. All I ask is that you play well on the pitch on the weekend'. In fact, one weekend I wasn't able to play and I wanted to go home and see my family and he offered to watch my house and look after my dog."

From the new Zidane, to Arsenal's prodigy, to Man City's title-winner, to Sevilla's saviour, to the social media hall of infamy. You can't say Nasri's career was boring.