Antoine Griezmann was passed up in favor of Kylian Mbappe to become France‘s new captain in March. When Hugo Lloris announced his retirement from international duty at the beginning of the year, the captaincy of the national team was left unfilled.
The Tottenham goalie led his team to glory at Russia 2018 and helped Les Blues reach the World Cup four years later as captain. Soon after, Didier Deschamps’ expected successor, Raphael Varane, formally retired from international competition as well, at the young age of 29.
That’s why Mbappe was named the team’s official leader. It was not favorably received by many, however. Some French experts and commentators have argued the decision showed a lack of respect for the Atletico Madrid striker.
What did Antoine Griezmann about Kylian Mbappe being named as France captain?
Catalan newspaper SPORT was one of several outlets to suggest that Antoine Griezmann pondered quitting the French team over the decision, seeing his exclusion as a mistake. Three months later, the 32-year-old has finally broken his silence about being passed over for the role of captain for Les Bleus.
“It was hard to take, and tough. I’m 32 and, although I still have the legs, I know I’m reaching the end [of my career]. I had a hard time stomaching it for one or two days,” Griezmann said in an interview with Telefoot.
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“I’m fully behind our captain Kylian. I won’t change anything, because that’s who I am“, he added.
