Papin endorses Lepaul's first France call-up

Estéban Lepaul will wear the France shirt for the first time during the next international break, after being called up by Zinedine Zidane. The Stade Rennais striker, Ligue 1’s top scorer last season with 21 goals, has received strong backing from Jean-Pierre Papin.

Speaking to Ouest-France, the 1991 Ballon d’Or winner lavished praise on the 26-year-old player. Papin particularly emphasized the rarity of Lepaul’s profile in contemporary football: « What he does in front of goal, very few do it. What you need to look at is not necessarily the ratio between his chances and his goals, it’s the type of goals he scores: instinctive goals, one-touch finishes. He’s capable of opening up his shot, closing it, sending it flying… He even scores headers. He can do it all. »

The former Olympique de Marseille striker also highlighted Lepaul’s consistency and physical robustness as additional arguments for his selection. « You just have to look at the figures: he played a full Ligue 1 season and he’s the top scorer, there’s nothing else to say », he added.

On the question of his ability to make an impact in European competition, Papin brushes aside doubts: « Everyone apparently expects him to prove himself in the Europa League, but honestly, if you’re capable of scoring in Ligue 1, you’ll score in the Europa League too. » He concludes nonetheless with lucidity: « The only thing left for him to do is confirm it. »

Lepaul has started the 2026-2027 season at a similar pace, already scoring 3 goals in 5 matches with Rennes.