Aston Villa join PSG and Lille in blocking Thierry Henry’s Olympics request | OneFootball

“The last time I faced so many rejections was in school,” said Thierry Henry upon the announcement of France’s squad for the upcoming Olympics tournament. The manager has been left frustrated by clubs’ unwillingness to release their players for the tournament, which they are under no obligation to do as the event does not fall within the dates of the FIFA calendar.

Many players on the list will not go to the tournament. Paris Saint-Germain and Lille OSC have made their stances clear: their players will not be released, meaning that players such as Bradley Barcola, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Leny Yoro and Lucas Chevalier, all of whom have been included in Henry’s squad, are highly unlikely to compete.

Aston Villa dashed Henry’s hopes once more. Lucas Digne and Moussa Diaby were both meant to be included in the squad, according to L’Équipe, however, 25 minutes before the start of the press conference, announcing his picks, the Premier League side got in touch, stating that they would not allow their players to feature. The duo therefore did not feature on Henry’s list, as planned.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle