‘I’m not sure if he’s interested’ – Noël Le Graët doubts Zidane’s desire to coach Les Bleus | OneFootball

Former French FA boss Noël Le Graët believes that Zinedine Zidane may not be keen to take the role of head coach of the French national team despite being linked to the job for several years. The 83-year-old shared his thoughts in a recent interview with RMC Sport, where he claims “I don’t know if it interests him [Zidane] really I haven’t had contact with him. But it’s the job of those who are in place.”

Les Bleus will be seeking a new manager following the announcement made by Didier Deschamps on Tuesday that he’ll be stepping down when the 2026 World Cup concludes. Le Graët, who was FFF president during the previous two World Cups, came under fire for comments made about Zizou at the end of the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

Shortly after Deschamps’ contract was extended at the end of that competition, Le Graët was asked if he considered Zidane to take the coaching job. He replied that he “wouldn’t even take his call.” Those words were met with outrage among many, including captain Kylian Mbapé (26), who said the president’s words were “A lack of respect.”

Zidane, whose two goals in the 1998 final helped France capture their first World Cup, with Deschamps serving as captain, has been out of coaching since leaving Real Madrid in May 2021. While at the Bernabéu, Zizou guided them to three successive UEFA Champions League titles. He scored the winning goal as a player when they won that competition in 2002.

Together, Zidane and Deschamps won the World Cup and Euro in 98 and 2000, respectively. The Ballon d’Or winner was voted the Best FIFA coach in 2017, and he holds the record for the biggest winning run in La Liga along with Pep Guardiola. He’s also the quickest manager in the history of the big five leagues to win seven titles with a single club, doing so with Real Madrid in 19 months.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre