Deschamps sent three personal messages to Éric Roy's family during World Cup

Despite the pressure of the World Cup, Didier Deschamps found time to send three personal messages to Loetitia Roy following the death of her husband Éric Roy, which occurred in June. The widow of the former Stade Brestois manager revealed this in an interview with Le Parisien.

“We weren’t super close, but we saw each other from time to time,” she confided, underscoring the impact of his gesture. “In the middle of the World Cup, he wrote me three extraordinary messages. I found it exceptional on his part.” A show of support that Loetitia Roy was keen to reciprocate when the manager himself lost his mother during the same competition.

Deschamps had also spoken publicly upon the announcement of Roy’s death, paying tribute in a statement to the memory of a man who was “profoundly human” and a “highly skilled technician.” He recalled Éric Roy’s remarkable trajectory at Stade Brestois, the club he had qualified for the Ligue des Champions, and spoke with pleasure about the moment he presented him with the UNFP award for best Ligue 1 manager two years earlier.

The manager also paid tribute to the former midfielder’s strength of character in facing illness: “He fought against the disease with a determination that commands respect.”