SINGAPORE – Nearly eight years ago, former Arsenal and Liverpool star Jermaine Pennant bid farewell to the S-League the same way he arrived – with a lot of buzz and fuss.

Before returning to England after a solitary season with Tampines Rovers, the winger created a stir when he said that not even superstar Lionel Messi could save Singapore’s flagging league.

Back in town for the StarHub Football Festival on April 20 and 21, the 41-year-old is sticking to his guns, telling The Sunday Times he meant well and stands by what he said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event at Our Tampines Hub, he said: “You look at all the big leagues – there is a lot of investment in the leagues to improve the squads, management, pitches, facilities, marketing and other services and products.

“These things cost money but it’s like a business – if you don’t invest in it, the business won’t grow.”

Pennant admitted he knew nothing about Singapore, the S-League – now known as the Singapore Premier League – and Tampines Rovers before he became one of biggest names in the league.

He said: “They told me I would be the first English Premier League player to play here in a while and they wanted me to help grow the game here.

“So I said why not? I thought it’s a good opportunity to help a big club move in the right direction and make the game bigger here.”

He has fond memories of his time here, living in a Bedok Reservoir condominium and hanging out with teammates like Jordan Webb, Billy Mehmet and Fazrul Nawaz – whom he still keeps in touch with over Instagram – playing sepak takraw and enjoying nasi briyani afterwards.

But etched in his memory is also the disparity between Singapore’s glitz and glamour and football’s mediocrity.

He smiled wistfully when reminded that he once did recovery in a mobile trash bin filled with ice and water at the Jurong West Stadium.

Pennant said: “It can be like night and day, and it’s a shame because Singapore is a very modern and wealthy country.

“The infrastructure for everything else is amazing and top notch, so why not for league football because the basis is there for Singapore to be a very successful Asian nation...

“It’s not just football, but sports in general, the Government or businesses need to get together to back sports in Singapore.”

One of Pennant’s many tattoos is a Champions League logo on the back of his left calf, a reminder of when he was Liverpool’s Man of the Match in the 2007 final which they lost 2-1 to AC Milan.

While he was in the twilight of his playing career by the time he came to Singapore aged 33, more than 1,000 fans turned up to catch him in action in pre-season friendlies, which was signficantly more than the hundreds at league games.

In his only season, he contributed four goals and 13 assists in 34 games in all competitions as the Stags finished runners-up to Albirex Niigata in the league and Singapore Cup.

Now a freelance pundit with Astro and Sky Sports, Pennant’s favourite football moment here was when he starred in a 1-0 AFC Cup win over Selangor in front of almost 12,000 fans at the National Stadium.

Tampines were then the first Singaporean side to progress to the knockout rounds since 2012.

“That felt professional all round – from the stadium, the pitch, the environment and our performance as well,” he said.

“It showed what Singapore football is capable of when it puts its mind and resources into it.”