“Every athlete dreams of the Olympic Games.” Last September, Aurélien Tchouaméni clearly positioned himself in favor of participating in the Paris Olympics. A desire not shared by Real Madrid, which recently announced that none of its players will be released for this meeting. The Spanish club is within its rights since the Olympic tournament does not appear in the FIFA calendar. A decision which the 24-year-old player took note of.
“Obviously, playing the Olympics in your country is something extraordinary,” said the person concerned this Thursday morning during a press conference before the friendly match between the France team and Germany on Saturday. It’s not something that we can necessarily repeat in our career. But he’s our employer. From the moment Real decided to veto, we didn’t have much to say. We would have liked to do them. It will not be possible. We will be the first supporters. »
And for Kylian Mbappé, probable future Merengue? “It’s the same thing,” he adds. It will be up to Kylian’s next club to decide. Maybe he will have the opportunity to go there… I don’t know where he will go. »
Absent from the last meeting due to a fracture of the second metatarsal, Aurélien Tchouaméni returns to blue for the two preparatory matches against Germany, in Lyon this Saturday, and Chile, in Marseille three days later. He met for the first time the young Warren Zaire-Emery (18 years old), with whom he had occasionally left his number 8 in November. “We didn’t talk about it (the number), he laughs. From what I saw in the first two sessions, he’s already a great player. We are very happy to have him among us in the squad. »
“My favorite position is midfield”
The Parisian could take advantage of the absence of Antoine Griezmann to show himself at Groupama Stadium where he is expected to occupy a role in the middle. An area in which Tchouaméni should find his bearings, he who has regularly helped out in the central hinge at Real Madrid in recent times. “My favorite position is midfield, it’s the position that allows me to be in full possession of my means. But playing in central defense gives me the opportunity to have a different vision of football. I had fun doing it. And I think I’m doing a pretty good job. »
For the rest, Aurélien Tchouaméni did not escape new questions about the overloaded competition calendar. While he had taken a position to relax this, the former Bordeaux resident gave a more measured speech. Basically similar. “I got hit a bit after that response,” he explains, a slight laugh at the corner of his mouth. But I remain firm in my position: there are a lot of matches. When we talk about banging our fist on the table, it means being all united to be able to discuss with the authorities. Will it happen? We do not know. But it’s a fact! »
After having had a moving thought for Valence defender Mouctar Diakhaby, whom he seriously injured during an involuntary collision on March 2, Tchouaméni also clarified a viral video showing him in the middle of a debate over two players with undisclosed identity. Were they talking about Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland? No, according to the person concerned. “It was Bayern-Lazio in the Champions League. Jude (Bellingham) spoke of (Éric) Dier, and I of Dayot (Upamecano). I know, it will sell less. But it’s the truth. » When asked who would choose between Haaland and Mbappé, the answer was clear: “Mbappé, for everything”.
