"Now surely, Kylian Mbappe will be the next France captain" - Julien Laurens tips PSG superstar to replace Hugo Lloris as captain
Prominent Journalist Julien Laurens has backed Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Kylian Mbappe to take over as the next France captain following Hugo Lloris' retirement.
Lloris retired as the most-capped French men's player with 145 caps to his name. He led the team to the FIFA World Cup title in 2018 and to the final of the 2022 World Cup, where they lost to Argentina.
"I have decided to stop my international career, with the feeling that I have given everything," Lloris said in an interview with French sports daily L'Equipe.
"I think it is important to announce this now, two and a half months before the start of [UEFA] Euro [2024] qualifying," he added.
Kylian Mbappe has now been tipped to take over from the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper as the next Les Blues captain. Laurens tweeted shortly after the news of Lloris retiring from international broke, saying he is sure that the PSG forward will be the next France skipper.
"And now surely, Kylian Mbappé will be the next France captain," the journalist tweeted.
And now surely, Kylian Mbappé will be the next France captain.🇫🇷
Mbappe was Les Blues' best player in their quest to defend the world title in Doha in December last year. He scored a hat-trick in the final that ended 3-3 after extra-time and converted his penalty in the shootout. However, he was stopped short by club teammate Lionel Messi's Argentina, who won the shootout 4-2.
Mbappe, still 24, already has 36 goals for France and is sixth on the all-time Les Blues' men's goal-scoring list. He is only behind Olivier Giroud, Thierry Henry, Antoine Griezmann, Michel Platini and Karim Benzema.
Kylian Mbappe launches scathing defense of France legend Zinedine Zidane
Kylian Mbappe was recently in the news even before Hugo Lloris' retirement. He was among the first to defend France legend Zinedine Zidane following comments from France Football president Noel Le Graet.
Le Graet criticized Zidane after reports emerged that he could become the next Brazil head coach.
"Zidane in Brazil? I don't care. He does what he wants, it's none of my business. I've never met him. We never considered parting with Didier," he said.
However, Mbappe was having none of it and tweeted in favor of the former three-time UEFA Champions League-winning Real Madrid manager.
"Zidane is France, we don't disrespect the legend like that," the PSG star said.
Zidane c’est la France, on manque pas de respect à la légende comme ça… 🤦🏽♂️
Le Graet has since apologized to Zidane for his comments, stating that his remarks led to a misunderstanding (via Marca).