HE MADE a $7 million move to French giant Bordeaux in 2010, yet four years later Fahid Ben Khalfallah found himself bound for a country he didn’t even know played soccer.

So what happened?

The Tunisian international had the world at his feet when he was plucked from Valenciennes to the 2008-09 French champions.

He was newly married, had just become a father and at Bordeaux he also found love.

“It’s a fantastic club,” Ben Khalfallah said. “I still have a good relationship with the president there and a lot of people in the club. It’s like my family. I love the city and at the club we played in the Europa League, we won the French Cup.

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“So I was very happy when they recruit me. It was like a dream.

“I have good memories about this club and even now I talk with a lot of people (there). I call them, they call me, they ask me about Australia and everything.

“If I could stay and finish my career there, seriously, I would.”

But, as Ben Khalfallah, now 32, explained, it was not meant to be.

“With the last coach, it was difficult,” he said. “If can’t play soccer I am not happy because it’s my life.”

In his last season at Les Girondins the winger played only eight games, all bar one off the bench. The coach was Francis Gillot and they did not see eye-to-eye.

“I didn’t have no relationship, with him,” Ben Khalfallah said.

“I never speak with him. Just when I left I talk with him and I say, ‘I don’t like you and I know you don’t like me’, But I still respected him because he was still my coach.

“When you are in company you have to respect your boss, but if you are not happy you have to change your company. It’s my mentality. My parents educate me like that.”

Simply looking for game time, Ben Khalfallah shifted to second division club Troyes in January, 2014.

But, although he enjoyed his time there, playing in Ligue 2 did not sit comfortably, Khalfallah was on the move again after six months.

“I say to my manager, ‘It doesn’t matter about the country, just tell me the proposition and I can make a choice’,” he said.

“So he brought me different propositions about Turkey, Greece, but when he spoke to me about Melbourne he said, ‘Do you want to go to Australia?’ and I said, ‘Australia? Do they play soccer in Australia?’. I knew nothing.

“In France people love the rugby and I know Australia is one of the best teams in the world, so I say, ‘They play rugby, but do they play soccer?’. I check on internet and I saw (Alessandro) Del Pierro was in Australia so I thought, ‘Why not?’.”

Ben Khalfallah is honest regarding his nonchalance about the A-League’s standard, but it did not take him long to realise that this is where he wanted to be long-term and that he would have to work hard to make that ambition become a reality.

“Seriously, I don’t want to lie, I didn’t expect nothing,” he said. “I said I was going to Australia just for the life — I think soccer there is nothing so I can play, relax every day.

“So I was very surprised, but it was a good surprise.”

A-LEAGUE GRAND FINAL

VICTORY v SYDNEY FC

AAMI Park, Sunday, 4pm

Live on Fox Sports 4 from 3pm

Commentators: Simon Hill and Andy Harper.

Live site at Gosch’s Paddock from 1pm

Fox’s pre-match broadcast will be hosted there from 3pm.

TAB odds (to win): Victory $1.60, Sydney $2.35.