Death of Didier Roustan at 66: this illness which struck him down in a few months

Sports journalist Didier Roustan died on September 11, at the age of 66. A death first announced on X by David Lisnard, the mayor of Cannes. It is in fact in this commune of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur that our colleague grew up, and there where he played football, before training with the sportsmen members of the AS Cannes club. Passionate about football, he was a presenter of Telefoot or even a columnist on the L’Équipe channel.

His death shook many former footballers, like Eric Cantona, Alain Giresse, and Daniel Bravo. It must be said that it seems to have been sudden. As reported TV Magazine, Didier Roustan was suffering from a “striking liver cancer” who got the better of him. This was, according to The Team, “several weeks” that he was battling the disease. Which explains his absence from the air since the beginning of the summer. On June 22, the journalist was on the set of L’Équipe du soir and he spoke about his state of health. Without directly talking about his cancer (he may not have even been aware of it at the time), the journalist revealed that things were not going well “not at all.” “I had food poisoning not long ago, and I can’t get over it. I’m taking pills. It’s not going well at all,” he confided, feeling unwell, while specifying all the same that he was going “make do”.

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Michel Denisot’s moving tribute

Among the personalities who paid tribute to him was Michel Denisot, who spoke on Europe 1 on the day of his death. “We had a very strong bond, I find it very difficult to talk about him now”the 79-year-old journalist said with emotion, recalling having worked alongside him for years as a commentator. “When we work in our professions, we spend a lot of time together, often more than with our families, so we were close and there was real affection. […] So it’s very difficult today,” he said, his heart heavy.

Article written in collaboration with 6Medias

Photo credits: JB Autissier / Panoramic / Bestimage