France 's football chief Noel Le Graet has apologised for comments he made about legendary midfielder Zinedine Zidane after being condemned by Spanish giants Real Madrid and Kylian Mbappe.
The 81-year-old made headlines over the weekend after some scathing comments about the 1998 World Cup winner. He stated that he “did not give a toss” about the now manager’s future plans and claimed that had he called expressing his interest in taking the reins from Didier Deschamps, he would not have picked up.
He was roundly criticised for those comments with Zidane’s former club Real Madrid having issued a statement. It 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. Zinedine Zidane, world champion and European champion defending his country's jersey, among many other titles, represents the values of sport and has demonstrated this throughout his professional career as a player and as a coach.
“The statements by the president of the French Football Federation are inappropriate for someone who holds that representation and disqualify themselves, like the ones he also makes about our captain Karim Benzema, current Ballon d'Or, champion of the League of Nations with France in 2021 and winner of 5 Champions League, among many other titles.”
Amid the fallout surrounding his comments, Le Graet has staged an apology having back-tracked on his initial claims. Speaking to AFP, he said: "I would like to apologise for these remarks which absolutely do not reflect my thoughts, nor my consideration for the player he was and the coach he has become.
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“I gave an interview to RMC that I should not have given because he was looking for controversy by opposing Didier to Zinedine Zidane, two monuments of French football. I admit that I made some awkward remarks which created a misunderstanding. Zinedine Zidane knows the immense esteem I have for him, like all French people."
Real Madrid were not the only ones to have torn into Le Graet following his contentious comments. Paris Saint-Germain and France striker Mbappe accused him of disrespect in a short response on Twitter.
He wrote: “Zidane is France, we don't disrespect the legend like that...” Regardless of the furore over Le Graet’s comments, Zidane will not be becoming the new France boss either way. Current boss Deschamps has penned a new deal until 2026 having led Les Bleus to two consecutive World Cup finals, winning one.
Zidane was originally linked with the role having been out of the game since ending his second spell with Real Madrid in the summer of 2021.
