Christian Eriksen reveals why he joined Brentford

Christian Eriksen has spoken publicly for the first time since making his sensational return to football with Brentford, and opened up on why he accepted the Bees' offer over others.

The midfielder suffered a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 with Denmark last summer and was subsequently fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

However, Serie A rules stated that Eriksen would not be allowed to play again for Inter with the device fitted, and his contract was mutually terminated in December 2021.

After training with boyhood side Odense and Ajax's youth team to ramp up his fitness, Eriksen signed for Premier League newcomers Brentford on the last day of the January transfer window following a lengthy medical.

Bees boss Thomas Frank, who coached Eriksen in the Danish youth setup, revealed recently that he phoned the midfielder in December to put the feelers out over a move, and Brentford's new number 21 revealed why he accepted their offer.

"I ended up in a situation where I was without a club, obviously. I had to do a lot of tests to get to where I am today, to get the approval from doctors to say I could play again without any risks," Eriksen said to Brentford's club channels.

"I spoke to Thomas a few times. I had a good feeling, [Brentford is] in London, for my family it's a good place to be. They play in the Premier League, for me for the next four or five months [I can] get up to a level and get to show who I am as a football player. I think it was the best option and luckily they agreed to it. It's a perfect mix.

"[Frank] was pretty clear early on, first of all just to say hi. He was asking a lot of questions to see how I feel obviously, what my thoughts were in getting back to football and fitness, how far off I was. It was a good phone call and it took off from there. I said yeah, we should keep in contact, see what happens. In the end it was the best mix of being able to go somewhere from the outside and looks very comfortable and familiar, it's a good place.

"I've been to the training ground, seen how everything is and how people are. It's a nice place to be. It's a good start."

Eriksen did admit that while his cardiac arrest last summer was an event that will always live with him, he now wants to be remembered again for his football.

"That's my aim. I've been given the green light from the doctors that I'm able to be the footballer Christian," he added. "I'll always have it with me and everyone will have the memory of what happened, but I think now it's time to make new memories. I'm excited to show also that with ICD, if you've had a cardiac arrest, if you do the proper tests and it's ok, you can play again."

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