Didier Deschamps clarifies relationship with Zinédine Zidane | OneFootball

Talk of Zinédine Zidane replacing Didier Deschamps as manager of the France national team is intensifying. Deschamps announced earlier this year that he would leave the set-up after the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Zidane, who has reportedly long since coveted the post held by former teammate Deschamps, has been seen as the strong favourite to replace the former Olympique de Marseille manager. Having not managed since leaving Real Madrid in 2021, it is believed that Zidane has been holding out on the national team job becoming vacant.

Deschamps says he and Zidane are ‘not intimate friends’

There have been murmurs for some time that Zizou and Deschamps, who shared the pitch at Juventus and for Les Bleus, do not get along well. However, in an interview with Le Figaro, released on Saturday, Deschamps has hit back at those persistent rumours of a sour relationship.

“Another great preconceived idea!” began the France manager. “We spent a lot of years together. There is still a lot of respect between us. By the way, the last time we saw each other, we exchanged and talked well […] there is still, on both sides, a form of recognition of each other’s success. I am not one of his intimate friends. We both have our own lives but whatever happens, there will always be respect between us,” he added.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle