“I spoke with Antoine. He was disappointed and frankly it’s understandable and normal. In his place, I would have had the same reaction. He was perhaps the most important player of the Didier Deschamps era. But I will not be his superior,” said the successor of Hugo Lloris, on the eve of the match of the Blues once morest the Netherlands at the Stade de France counting for the qualifications for Euro-2024.
With the international retirement of Lloris, record holder of the number of selections in the France team (145), and that of his vice-captain Raphaël Varane, the names of Mbappé (24 years old) and Griezmann (32 years old) stood out to occupy the captain function.
“Antoine is esteemed and loved by the whole group, it would be a shame not to take advantage of his experience. We will be hand in hand to make this French team win”, added Mbappé who said he wanted to be a “unifying” captain. and “team oriented”.
Deschamps, for his part, indicated that Griezmann’s “disappointment at the time” was “legitimate”. But according to the boss of the vice-world champions, the Atletico de Madrid player has been “radiant” and “resplendent” since the start of the rally, while the daily L’Equipe reported on Wednesday regarding Griezmann’s questions regarding the continuation of his international career since the announcement of the choice of the new captain.
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© 2023 AFP