LEICESTER outcast Riyad Mahrez has landed a brilliant nickname among his team-mates for trying to repeatedly quit the club.
The upset Algerian went AWOL for a third time during the most recent transfer saga – leaving Leicester considering a £200k fine.
The Foxes players feel he let them down on Tuesday by missing their crucial training session ahead of the Everton match, when they ran through set pieces and tactics.
And that has ramped up their usage of the nickname Viktor Navorski – after Hollywood actor Tom Hanks’ character in the film Terminal.
At the end of the summer transfer window, the sulking winger spent deadline day in a Paris airport ready for a flight to Barcelona, Madrid, Manchester or London if a club agreed a fee for him.
The image of the Algerian trapped in the transfer hub sparked comparisons with the 2004 movie based on the true story of a man who becomes stuck in New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.
In the Steven Spielberg film, Navorski, a traveller from Krakozhia, is denied entry into the USA and cannot return home because of a military coup.
The script is based on the true story of Iranian refugee Mehran Karimi Nasseri who lived in Terminal 1 of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport from 1988 to 2006.
TRAINING DAY Leicester to fine Riyad Mahrez £200,000 for training no-show after failed Manchester City move on deadline day
The wantaway Algerian claims the Foxes have betrayed him by refusing his dream move to Manchester City.
Mahrez is understood to be “very depressed” and blames director of football John Rudkin for the mess.
A close friend who has worked with the player for many years told SunSport: “I was with Riyad today and he is very down and depressed.
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“He understood that if a big club came in for him he would be allowed to go and realise his dream.
“Riyad thought he had that relationship with the club that he could be free to move and be recognised as one of the best footballers in the world.
“But over the last four transfer windows they have been asking for £45m, then £50m, then more than £80m. This is not fair on him.
“He is not interested in the cars and the money. He is not a flash footballer. But he wants to be the best he can be at the best club he can play for.”
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