France’s World Cup winner Antoine Griezmann quits international football

1 month ago 33

ARTICLE AD BOX

Star midfielder Griezmann has called time on a 10-year career that saw him score 44 goals in 137 matches for France.

Published On 30 Sep 2024

France midfielder Antoine Griezmann has announced his retirement from international football, ending his 10-year career with the national team.

Griezmann, who played a crucial role in France’s triumphant run at the FIFA World Cup 2018, called time on his journey with the Les Blues in an emotional social media post on Monday.

“Today, it is with deep emotion that I’m announcing my retirement as a player of the France team,” he wrote.

“After 10 incredible years marked by challenges, successes and unforgettable moments, it is time for me to turn a page and make way for the new generation.

“Wearing this jersey was an honour and a privilege.”

Griezmann was one of France’s most important players over the past decade and scored a goal in the team’s 2018 World Cup final win over Croatia in Moscow.

The 33-year-old, who struggled at this year’s Euro championship, was one of the key elements in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup campaigns as France took the title in Russia and finished runners-up in Qatar.

Nicknamed Grizou, he was a favourite among his teammates and fans and was the top scorer at Euro 2016 when France reached the final, only to be beaten by Portugal after extra time at the Stade de France.

Griezmann won 137 caps for France and imposed himself as a versatile player in Didier Deschamps’s midfield.

“We’ve had a long discussion about [his retirement] recently. Since his debut in the France team 10 years ago we’ve had a relationship based on trust and frankness,” Deschamps said in a statement.

“Even if his club career is not over, Antoine will remain a monument of French football, one of the greatest player in its history.

“It was often said that he was my favourite. We indeed had built a very strong relationship, that will remain intact. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything, Grizou.”

Even when the captain’s armband went to Kylian Mbappe after Hugo Lloris’s international retirement, he was always a voice everyone listened to.

He played a record 84 consecutive matches with Les Bleus, a number that underlines his status as the national team’s most valuable player in the last 10 years.

The Atletico Madrid forward made his France debut in March 2014 and his 137 appearances are beaten only by his former teammate Hugo Lloris (145) and 1998 World Cup winner Lilian Thuram (142).

Griezmann is also fourth in France’s list of all-time leading goal-scorers with 44, behind only record marksmen Olivier Giroud, Thierry Henry and Mbappe.

Griezmann’s last appearance for France came in a UEFA Nations League win at home against Belgium earlier this month.

The striker’s decision to quit is further confirmation that an era has come to an end for the French side.

Lloris and centre-back Raphael Varane retired from international duty in the wake of the 2022 World Cup, with the latter quitting football entirely last week at the age of just 31.

Giroud stopped playing for his country in the wake of this year’s Euros in Germany.

Deschamps will name his next France squad this Thursday ahead of Nations League matches against Israel in Budapest on October 10 and Belgium in Brussels four days later.