Former QPR goalkeeper Paul Nardi: ‘I thought that I was going to die.’

Paul Nardi, the former QPR goalkeeper, has disclosed that he once believed he would perish while fighting a persistent intestinal condition. Nardi, now playing for AJ Auxerre, disclosed this to L’Équipe. Following his promotion to Ligue 1 with FC Lorient, he was diagnosed with chronic intestinal inflammation. Nardi recounted losing ten kilograms and enduring extreme difficulties, even when he thought he would die one evening.

Despite his struggles, he returned to football in April 2021. He explained that the only method to overcome the illness was through participating in sports and that it would not affect his career, despite the life-saving treatments he underwent. Nardi also suffered a severe double shin break at the end of 2023. He described the sight of the exposed bone and the leg at a right angle as making him believe that "football was over."

Nardi credits his manager, Hein Vanhaezebrouck, at Gent for giving him another opportunity, leading to his transfer to QPR. He admitted that his second season at QPR, in which he mainly watched from the sidelines despite being the first-choice goalkeeper, was a result of a "financial-political" decision made by the London-based club.

Nardi has played in L’AJA's final four Ligue 1 games, starting the season on the bench. AJ Auxerre have recorded one win, one draw, and two losses in that period.