Remarks made by French FA President Noel La Great over Zinedine Zidane’s suitability as a potential France national team manager have been met with heavy backlash, which has ultimately forced the former politician into a public apology.
La Graet, who has served as the French FA President since 2011, recently took aim at former Les Bleus World Cup and Euro winner Zinedine Zidane with a string of grating comments.
The 81-year-old had been quizzed over rumours linking Zidane with the Brazil national team position after it was announced Didier Deschamps would renew his contract as France manager.
Speaking to RMC Sport, he boldly claimed: “Zinedine Zidane to Brazil? I don’t give a toss.
“He can go wherever he wants, to a club or to a national team. I don’t really care.
“Did he try to ring me? Definitely not. I wouldn’t have even picked up the phone for him.”
Zidane was the betting frontrunner among a host of names linked with the French manager role, with Deschamps’s future remaining unclear since falling at the final hurdle in his second World Cup final little under a month ago.
The former Juventus and Real Madrid maestro consolidated his legendary status when transitioning to a managerial role, winning two La Liga titles and three consecutive Champions League trophies while in charge of Los Blancos – only the second manager to ever win more than two.
The current Spanish champions are among a host of footballing heritage to come out with words of support for Zidane following La Graet’s seemingly disrespectful remarks.
The club’s statement read: ‘Real Madrid CF regrets the unfortunate statements made by the president of the French Football Federation, Noel Le Graet, about Zinedine Zidane, one of the greatest legends of world sport.
‘These words imply a lack of respect towards one of the figures most admired by football fans around the world and our club expects an immediate rectification. “
World Cup Golden Boot winner Kylian Mbappe also waded in to the feud with a statement of his own, taking to Twitter to post the Tweet below.
La Graet has now publicly apologised for the interview he gave, saying; “I want to give my apologies for those comments that absolutely don’t reflect my thoughts, nor my consideration for the player that he was and the manager he has become.”
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