Football
ESPN staff 9y

Alejandro Bedoya says Nantes thinks he is too tired to play regularly

U.S. midfielder Alejandro Bedoya has been struggling to breach Nantes' lineup, but he made everyone pay attention with a long strike against PSG on Saturday.

Nantes eventually lost the Ligue 1 match 2-1 behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic's brace, but afterward Bedoya told ESPN FC's Jonathan Johnson that he was proud of his first goal of the season.

"It is right up there with the best goals I have scored so far in my career," Bedoya said. "Of course it was against an opponent like PSG, so that makes it a little bit extra special.

"We did not get the win though, so a little bit disappointing. But definitely a goal to remember.

"It happened really quickly. My first thought was that it had rolled out to me perfectly and I was actually thinking about hitting it first time. But, for some reason, I decided to take an extra touch, set myself up and let it rip away."

Bedoya played in all of the United States' games at the World Cup, but he has found it more difficult to get on the pitch in his second season at Nantes, starting just eight of their 17 games this season.

The 27-year-old has been away from his club on three international breaks since the season began, with this travels taking him to the Czech Republic, the U.S., England and Ireland.

Bedoya told ESPN FC his busy travel schedule for the U.S. has led to the impression he is too tired for full duties with his club -- with Saturday's game being just the fourth in which he played all 90 minutes.

"I have not been playing as much because I think that the club feels I have been a bit tired by all the travelling for the games that I have been playing in," Bedoya said.

"I think today I showed my qualities once again though and I just hope to play a bit more."

Bedoya's agent, Lyle Yorks, revealed in October that contract extension talks had stalled, and the midfielder said nothing has changed.

"No progress has been made," Bedoya said. "They are still there, but there is also the business side of football. They broke down and for now nothing has been started up again.

"We'll see what happens, but right now I am just trying to focus on football and play as much as I can."

ESPN FC's Jonathan Johnson contributed to this report.

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