2024 Olympics: the hard blows keep coming for Thierry Henry

2024 is definitely a very exciting year of football and sport. While the AFCON and Asian Nations Cup took place in January, all other continental competitions are also taking place this year. Thus, in addition to the Euro, the Copa América will also be played this summer. Enough to distribute a good dose of football to all football lovers across the globe. And for those who still won’t be satisfied, the Olympic Games represent a dessert that may be tasty. For its Paris Olympics, France will inevitably be expected in several disciplines. Under the leadership of Thierry Henry, the French football delegation will be particularly scrutinized.

Author of very interesting work since his arrival with the Espoirs, the former Arsenal scorer also pleases thanks to his outspokenness and his highly noticed media outings. This Monday, the 46-year-old tactician still entertained the crowd. Expected at a press conference to announce the 25 players who will represent France at the Olympics, Henry explained that this list was provisional because of the numerous refusals he has received and which he still risks receiving. All in his usual style, between humor and spite: “you come, you ask, they tell you yes or no, and you leave. The players you don’t see in this list are because the clubs said no. For the moment, I haven’t taken any rejections from French clubs yet, but the last time I took so many rejections was in college.»

PSG and LOSC refuse to release their players

And obviously, the return to college will continue for the former top scorer in the history of the French selection. LOSC will play the role of the uninterested teenager because they will not release Bafodé Diakité, Leny Yoro and Lucas Chevalier for the international competition. Indeed, questioned by The TeamOlivier Létang, the president of the Dogues, explained that he was not going to release his players for the Olympics: “I called my affected players and they understood. We have an extremely important deadline for our club. I am president of LOSC and I defend its interests. There’s not even a question to ask. If our position is unique it is also because we are the only ones to play in the play-offs. If we had not finished fourth, we would have released our players, we had informed the DTN (Hubert Fournier) a month ago. Now, we must do everything we can to avoid having regrets. How could I explain to our supporters, our economic partners or the teammates of Lucas or Bafodé that we are going to play our Champions League qualification without them? Nobody would understand.»

In addition to this loss of three very important players for France at the Olympics, Thierry Henry will experience another disillusionment with another French club. And not just any one because according to the daily, PSG is also not going to give any gifts and should not release Bradley Barcola and Warren Zaire-Emery. Indeed, already playing the Euro with the Blues this summer, the two young players will have to rest after a trying 2023-2024 exercise during which they were two starters in the eyes of Luis Enrique, but especially before a new, extended vintage. Fearing overwork for these two titis, the Parisian club should announce the news as soon as it receives the summons of its two elements for the Olympic tournament. In short, Thierry Henry will still have to revise his plans and bringing a successful team to the Olympics may well be more difficult than expected…