Thierry Henry is hoping that Kylian Mbappe and other French World Cup stars might make themselves available for his team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but it all depends mostly on their clubs.
The 25-year old Mbappe, France’s biggest star, will be a free agent in the summer and his choice of club has provoked intense speculation. The Paris Saint-Germain striker has long been linked with a move to Real Madrid.
“There’s a difference between wanting something and being able to achieve it,” Henry, France’s Under-21 and Olympic coach, said on Jan 19 of Mbappe playing at the Olympics.
“I don’t know where he’ll end up, but the club will have a say. I haven’t contacted him about it yet.”
Hosts France qualified automatically for the Olympics football tournament which kicks off on July 24, two days before the opening ceremony.
Each team is allowed three players over the age limit of 23, and Henry, who played 123 times for France’s senior team, hopes that the prospect of playing at an Olympics at home will attract players.
But he said he also hadn’t heard from other over-age stars, such as Antoine Griezmann, 32.
“No one has approached me,” Henry said.
“Let’s be honest, it’s the Olympics in France, so it’s a big deal for everyone. If you talk to any player in France, they’d like to do the Olympics. But will they be able to?”
“I have a lot of possibilities and very few certainties,” added Henry of his squad.
“It’s even truer when it comes to preparing for the Olympic Games, which doesn’t fit into the Fifa calendar. We’re at the mercy of the clubs’ willingness to release their players.
“I don’t know who I will choose yet, but let’s say I want a player and his current club accepts. If he is transferred in the summer, how do I know if his new club will want to release him?”
The problem is complicated because France has qualified for Euro 2024 in Germany just before the Paris Games, meaning that senior players may find it too taxing to play two major tournaments in a row.
“We do not know the squad for the Euro either,” Henry said.
The 46-year-old, who was part of the France squad that won the World Cup at home in 1998, also said there will be expectations from “me, the team, everyone” for the Olympics regardless of what team he has.
“It’s France. Visualizing gold is normal. But getting there is another question,” he said.
“It’s not always easy to win at home, to transform this pressure into a positive emotion.”
Prior to his current role, the Frenchman has coached Monaco and Montreal Impact, and has been an assistant with Belgium, but he is not counting on a long coaching career.
“I like coaching but one day I will stop,” he said.
“Longevity at the (top) level football, apart from DD (France national team coach Didier Deschamps), it’s hard.” AFP