Paris, January 9 (BNA): France striker Kylian Mbappe has declared his support for Zinedine Zidane after the country’s football federation president Noel Le Graet said he would not pick up the phone if the former midfielder called him to discuss training. National team.
The Football Association had announced the extension of the contract of coach Didier Deschamps on Saturday, after he led France to the World Cup final for the second time in a row, as it lost to Argentina on penalties in Qatar last month. Zidane was previously a favored candidate to succeed Deschamps, Reuters reports.
When asked if Zidane, a World Cup winner with France in 1998 and a national icon, would now manage the Brazil national team instead, Le Graet told RMC: “I don’t give a damn, he can go wherever he wants.
“I know very well that Zidane was always on the radar. He had a lot of supporters, some of whom were waiting for Deschamps to go… But who could seriously blame Deschamps? Nobody.
“He (Zidane) does whatever he wants; it’s none of my business. I haven’t met him, we never thought of breaking up with Didier. He can go anywhere he wants, to a club… If Zidane tries to contact me? Absolutely not, I wouldn’t even Pick up the phone.”
Zidane was the first coach to win the Champions League three times in a row while in charge of Real Madrid.
The 50-year-old, who also won Euro 2000 with France on a stellar career, is currently without a job having left his role with the Spanish club last year.
“Zidane is France, and we don’t underestimate a legend like that,” Mbappe said on Twitter after Le Graet’s interview was broadcast.
Le Graet’s sacking by Zidane as Deschamps’ potential successor comes two years after he backed the former midfielder to take over if he was available.
French Sports Minister Amelie Audia-Castéra was one of several politicians to respond to Le Graet’s remarks, saying the head of the country’s “biggest sports federation” had crossed the line.
And she wrote on Twitter: “There are more distant comments and on top of that shameful lack of respect, which hurts us all, towards the legend of football and sport.”
French politician Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade also demanded an apology from Le Graet, saying on Twitter: “Zidane is a monument to French football and sport. A figure that all French people love… Our football deserves better than that.”