Mbappé's captaincy directly triggered Griezmann's international retirement

Antoine Griezmann’s international retirement, announced in summer 2024, now has a documented explanation: according to an L’Équipe investigation into Mohamed Sanhadji, the former long-serving security officer of the French national team, the player’s father had confided to him as early as spring 2023 that Kylian Mbappé’s appointment as captain would hasten the end of his son’s international career.

Alain Griezmann conveyed the message directly to Sanhadji, nicknamed « Momo » or « La République » in the French dressing room, at the moment Didier Deschamps formalized his choice. The response from the officer, whose actions are now the subject of legal proceedings, illustrates the nature of his relationships with the national team’s senior figures: « I’m devastated, we owe him everything! He’s the greatest player I’ve known in 25 years. » A formula of unconditional support that, according to the investigation, was distributed with equal generosity to other figures in French football, from Zinedine Zidane to Thierry Henry via Olivier Giroud.

These revelations give precise substance to what Antoine Griezmann himself had publicly hinted at without ever stating it clearly. The Atlético Madrid striker had acknowledged needing several days to « digest » the coach’s choice, believing that his commitment in the French shirt gave him legitimate rights to the armband.

Deschamps, for his part, never wavered in his justification. « Kylian ticks all the boxes to have this responsibility. On the pitch as in the group’s life, being a unifying element. Antoine, by what he does on the pitch too, is an essential link. He could have aspired to it as well, but Kylian is captain and Antoine is vice-captain, » he had declared. When asked about Sanhadji’s influence within the group, the coach was categorical: « Mohamed Sanhadji has no influence on me. »

The Sanhadji affair thus extends beyond the sole financial and disciplinary framework he is accused of. It exposes, implicitly, the fragility of the internal balance within a France team that dominated world football between 2018 and 2022, and the way a management decision — however legitimate — can fracture international careers built over two decades.