“He’s a great player and a great man” : Noël Le Graët paid tribute to Antoine Griezmann this Tuesday, November 5, during an interview given for West France at his home in Guingamp (Côtes-d’Armor).
The former president of the French Football Federation (FFF), forced to resign in February 2023 after an investigation targeting him “for moral and sexual harassment” was dismissed, “regret” that the best passer in the history of the France team (137 caps, 44 goals) retired internationally on September 30 “like this, between two sequences”. “He should have played a match where everyone would have paid tribute to him”he added.
One of the “flag bearers” with “an excellent mentality”
The 82-year-old business leader assured that he « adore » the former leader of the Blues and that the latter “could have been” captain of the France team after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, even if the appointment of Kylian Mbappé for this role “was normal”.
He also estimated that this retirement, added to those of Hugo Lloris, Olivier Giroud and Raphaël Varane, makes the current selection a team « en reconstruction ». “The players who were our standard bearers, with great talent and excellent mentality, have retired”he developed.
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And to conclude: “Didier has a team to rebuild. The current players have talent but it doesn't happen like that. But we will qualify, what more could we ask for? »
France
