Renan Lodi made a lasting impact in his single season at Nottingham Forest, but there was one aspect of the move that made the transition into English football more difficult than he could’ve imagined.
Whilst the deal never came off, Forest pushed hard to sign Lodi permanently after his stellar loan spell at the City Ground.
It became quite clear that Atletico Madrid didn’t want to keep Lodi so there was genuine hope that a deal could be done, but the Brazilian left-back ended up on loan at Marseille in France instead to chase a hope of playing in the Champions League.
Ironically, Marseille were eliminated from the Champions League mere weeks after the 26-year-old arrived, which would eventually cut short his period in France as Lodi signed for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia, linking up with fellow Brazilian Neymar at the time.
Unlike Neymar, Lodi remains out in the Middle East and is seemingly enjoying his time at Al Hilal, but he did recently take to social media to discuss his time in Nottingham.
Renan Lodi found adapting to Nottingham Forest ‘extremely difficult’
Lodi and Al Hilal broke a world record for consecutive games won, which perhaps speaks to the relative ease in which he has adapted to Saudi Arabian football, but the same can’t be said for his time in England.
Speaking on his Instagram account about his year-long loan at Forest, Lodi was incredibly honest about the difficulties, saying: “It was an extremely difficult adaptation because the sun never came out there! It was cloudy all the time, and by 3 pm, it was already really dark.
Rafaela [Lodi’s wife] was there with me too, and she was pregnant. But since it was a decision I made, I felt more at peace even though the adaptation was tough.”
Lodi clearly wouldn’t let these challenges define him, continuing: “I was more grounded, telling myself: ‘No, I’m going to play in the Premier League, I’m going to be calmer about it.’ In the first month, it was very difficult to play because of the adaptation.
“The Premier League is a very challenging League. Out of 33 games, I played 31 so I wasn’t just there for sightseeing; I played.”
Brentford were keen on Lodi before his move to Al Hilal, but that never materialised, which may not be a surprise after the Brazilian continued to discuss how important Forest was to him as a club.
Renan Lodi has ‘a lot of affection’ for Nottingham Forest
Continuing to speak on his Instagram, Lodi revealed that these early adaptation issues were put behind him, allowing him the chance to enjoy his Premier League experience.
Lodi said: “I have a lot of affection for Nottingham. Rafaela loves that city, and after a while, I grew to love it too. I also accepted the challenge because the club had just been promoted to the Premier League after 20 years.
“The challenge was to keep Nottingham in the top division, so I went there with that goal in mind. To play, to prove my worth and also to remember some people at Atletico telling me: ‘don’t go, stay here. Even if you’re not playing, stay here, it’s too hard over there; you won’t play, the team just got promoted.
“As I adapted, I exploded there, too. Out of 33 games, I played 31, I managed to play in the Premier League, and we achieved the club’s goal of staying in the top division […] and this year, I think it’s the third or fourth year with Nottingham in the top division, everything changed”
Steve Cooper was a fan of Lodi in that Premier League survival season in which the Brazilian played a significant part. He may not have returned to the club on a permanent basis, but his impact on the Forest squad will be remembered just as he will remember his short but sweet time in English Football.
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
