With tears in his eyes, with a 14-year career under his belt under the leadership of the French national team, with a World Cup title, but nothing more except for two lost finals, Didier Deschamps has left the national team.

In an interview, his last as coach of “Les Bleus” on Saturday evening after the defeat against England (4-6), Deschamps revealed that he had chosen to leave his position as coach “for the good of the French team”, due to an “environment” that had become “suffocating and without any breathing space” in relation to him. When speaking about the end of his term as coach of “Les Bleus”, on Saturday evening Didier Deschamps was very emotional.

"The French team is above everything. It doesn't belong to me. I was at its service in the mission to take it to the top for fourteen years. There is nothing above this shirt," he recalls, his voice overcome with emotion, after losing in the small final at the end of a crazy match against England (4-6). At the same time, he also spoke about his decision to leave his position as coach, announced in January 2025.

 

I decided not to continue, I had to stop. And if I decided, I didn't do it for myself, I'm telling you honestly, I did it for the good of the French team. I may not have said it, but I'm telling you today, I'm telling you very sincerely, I had made this decision a long time ago. I made it after I saw that there was an environment that was so stifling compared to me, that the French team didn't deserve this," he said at the beginning. Targeted by the press and fans Long targeted by critics, despite a very positive record at the helm of "Les Bleus", the coach explains that his choice "was not made overnight", but was well thought out. "Since it was announced, it was much better for the French team," he said.