Landreau slams Guendouzi after Groupama Stadium brawl

Mickaël Landreau did not mince words after the incidents that broke out Wednesday evening at Groupama Stadium, following the second leg of the Champions League playoff between OL and Fenerbahçe. Booed by the Lyon crowd, Mattéo Guendouzi taunted the stands for several minutes after the final whistle, triggering a general altercation between players and then a brawl in the corridor leading to the dressing rooms.

Questioned on the Late Football Club show, Landreau — who managed Guendouzi at FC Lorient between 2017 and 2019, when the midfielder was just 18 years old — painted a damning portrait of the French international: “Since he was young, he’s been in constant provocation. Frankly, it’s unbearable to manage him. At every club he’s been to, but a year, two years maximum, it’s not possible. He has talent, everyone’s had enough of him. Some people will say ‘he’s nice’, but no: when he’s not in the starting lineup, he causes trouble at training with his own teammates. That’s how it is, for me, as a person, it’s complex.”

This is not the first time the former international goalkeeper has made such comments. As early as 2020, he had described a player “very difficult to manage”, with an “oversized ego” and “collective behaviour that is very, very hard”.

At 27, Guendouzi has earned 16 caps for France since 2021. Formed at PSG and then Lorient, he went on to play for Arsenal, Hertha Berlin, Marseille — where he stayed two seasons — then Lazio for three years before joining Fenerbahçe. A career marked by regular departures that seem to confirm, in Landreau’s view, a recurring pattern.