The whole of French football is really on its feet on Monday morning. The relatively harsh words of the president of the association, Noel Le Graet, who rubbed shoulders with Zinedine Zidane, are to blame for this. For example, Kylian Mbappé stood up for the legends of France, and now also Real Madrid.
It was Zinedine Zidane who was waiting for an offer to become the coach of France. According to the French media, Didier Deschamps was to quit after the World Cup in Qatar and the legendary “Zizou” was to take over the Tres Bleus.
Because of this, he rejected offers from PSG and Manchester United in the summer. But the president of the French federation, Noel Le Graet, decided to extend the contract with Deschamps, which is of course perfectly fine and he has the right to do so. But the words to Zidane were quite unnecessary.
Indeed, when journalists asked him about Zidane, Le Graet answered more as if it were an annoying enemy, rather than one of the biggest, if not the biggest, sporting icon of the country.
“That Zidane will coach Brazil? I don’t care at all, let him go where he wants. He can train whoever he wants, national team, club…,” said Le Graet in an interview with RMC Sport. And he continued in a sharp tone.
“Has Zidane tried to contact me? No, I wouldn’t pick up the phone on him anyway.” surprised Le Graet. “Why should I tell him to look for another club? Let him sign up for some special program that will find him a club or national team.” added the president of the French union.
And these words caused a great wave of reactions. Kylian Mbappé, the biggest star of the current national team, also defended his idol. “Zidane is France, this is how a legend should not be disrespected” said Mbappé on his Twitter.
Le Graet’s words did not go unnoticed even at Real Madrid, where Zinedine Zidane is highly regarded as one of the club’s greatest icons.
“Real Madrid CF regrets the unfortunate remarks made by the president of the French Football Federation, Noel Le Graët, about Zinedine Zidane, one of the greatest legends of world sport,” wrote Real in its official statement.
“These words show a lack of respect for one of the figures most admired by football fans around the world and our club expects immediate redress. Zinedine Zidane, world champion and European champion defending his country’s jersey among many other titles, represents the values of sport and has proven this throughout his professional career as a player and coach.” the club continues.
“The statements made by the president of the French Football Federation are inappropriate for someone who stands up for this national team and are disqualifying, such as those made about our captain Karim Benzema, the current Ballon d’Or winner, the Nations League champion with France in 2021 and the winner of 5 Champions Leagues , among many other titles,” concluded the Real Madrid statement.
Source: Twitter, RMC, Real Madrid
