Before winning France’s 2002 Graines de star reality show that kicked off his musical career, Bakian was an aspiring footballer and was part of Nice’s youth side.
The French singer, a Marseille fan from a very young age, found a lot of inspiration for his music in football and Leeds boss Bielsa, who managed Les Phoceens for a season, is one man that caught his imagination.
Bakian revealed that Bielsa is his favourite coach and his football philosophy deeply touched him, prompting him to write a letter to the Argentine to express his admiration.
The 35-year-old added that he could not hold back tears when Bielsa phoned him to get in touch with him, something which ended up being a memorable conversation.
Asked whether he has talked to Bielsa, Bakian told French magazine So Foot: “He’s my favourite coach so one day I wrote him a letter.
“It was to show him my admiration.
“I introduced myself, I told him that I was an artist and that his playing philosophy touched me enormously.
“I sent this letter without much hope and one day I received a phone call from England.
“At the end of the line, it was Marcelo Bielsa, who asked me if I was really Gregory.
“Since I didn’t speak too much Spanish, we arranged another call with my assistant who is Venezuelan and Marcelo’s translator.
“We were able to communicate, it was memorable.
“I was crying.”
Football fans will have a chance to watch Bakian perform on 29th November in Monaco during the Golden Foot ceremony, which is expected to be attended by some of the biggest names in football in the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Robert Lewandowski.
