City's French striker has spent the last week in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and reports surfaced yesterday saying that he was about to convert to Islam in order to facilitate a lucrative move to the Far East.
Anelka paid a visit to a local club and is also believed to have visited Mecca, the holiest place of worship in the Islamic faith, but he denied he was considering leaving City.
However, the former Arsenal and Liverpool ace has now told France Football magazine: "I am ready to stay here and to play for a club in the Emirates. I am not keen to go back to England or France.
"The Muslim religion interests me," added Anelka. "When I'm in Trappes (the working class community on the outskirts of Paris, where he grew up) I hang out with Muslims and we discuss it a lot. In the summer we're outdoors until 4am, so we have the time to talk.
"I listen to them in order to understand and learn, just like Roberto Baggio on Buddhism. It opens your mind and the subject fascinates me, just like astronomy does."
This appears to be the latest chapter in a troubled career which has seen Anelka play for five clubs in three different countries before he is even 26.