Zidane: Mbappe vs French Football’s President

For months and even years, France has been waiting to see Zinedine Zidane as Didier Deschamps’ successor on the French national team’s bench, and it was believed that after the World Cup in Qatar, the time had come for it to actually happen. But it became clear that Deschamps will stay for one more cycle or until the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. In an interview with Radio Monte Carlo, the president of the association, Noël Le Graët, used the opportunity to talk about Zidane in a negative context.

Embed from Getty Images

Whether it was anger over failed negotiations, vanity, or something else, only Le Graët spat on Zidane and even went so far as to say that he would not answer his phone now if one of the best footballers in the world of all time called him!

“I know that Zidane has always been mentioned as a candidate, but we will not tell that story. He had a lot of people who supported this idea; some of them couldn’t wait to see Deschamps’ back and rushed it. “It was constantly being talked about,” began Le Graët, then continued harshly:

“Zidane as coach of Brazil? I don’t know, and I don’t care, but it wouldn’t surprise me. He does what he wants; it’s none of my business. We never talked, and I never thought about changing Deschamps (because of him). Some journalists need to change or invest a little in themselves because when they have nothing to write about, they only write about that (that Zidane will be a coach). Did Zidane call me? Definitely not, nor would I answer his phone. What should I tell him — to go look for a job? You are creating a special program for him so he can find a job for himself.”

Kylian Mbappe soon responded to these statements of the president of the French Federation. The best player of “Les Bleus” sent a short but clear message through social networks, exposing the truth: relations within the football association are not good…

“Zinedine Zidane is France; that’s not how you treat a legend.”

Zidane c’est la France, on manque pas de respect à la légende comme ça… 🤦🏽‍♂️

— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) January 8, 2023

The executive committee of the French Football Federation (FFF), after more than two hours of meeting, practically dismissed Noël Le Graët from the position of president. Vice-president Philippe Diallo took over the position of the first man of French football.

Le Graet, as it was announced, received the “punishment” for the made-up nonsense that had come to light in the previous days. He refused to talk to Zinedine Zidane about the national team’s bench, even though the nation and a large part of the professional public wanted Zidane to succeed Didier Deschamps after the defeat in the World Cup final.

He was then accused of sexually harassing a female employee at the FFF. And there was turmoil in the French house of football, so the Ministry of Sports of France ordered an audit of the FFF.

The report from the investigator is due by the end of January. After that, the FFF will have a few weeks to make the changes that need to be made.