After the bad European week for French clubs, Jérôme Rothen made a huge rant.
One over four. This is the result of French clubs this week in the Europa League play-offs. Apart from Olympique de Marseille which qualified for the round of 16 of the C3, thanks to its victory over Shakhtar Donetsk (3-1), Lens, Toulouse and Rennes fell by the wayside. An unfortunate assessment which had the gift of putting Jérôme Rothen beside himself.
“The truth is that without Paris and Marseille, we do not existhe lamented. We already have difficulty existing in Europe, it’s not because PSG and OM pass that that’s it, we think we’re big names. The problem with our French football is that it boils down too much to that. I have often defended the level of our championship, but it is indefensible this season. We’re not good, teams with big budgets are rubbish. The locomotives do not respond to be among the best championships. On the European scene, if you remove Paris and Marseille… However, we all highlighted the groups where we had been a hit and everyone had qualified. We were pleasantly surprised. »
“The people of Rennes went to Milan for tourism, I was ashamed”
And the former Parisian adds another layer: “Paris and Marseille, we are used to seeing them in the European Cup. Maybe we get too used to them doing this, it’s their reality. When the others qualify, it’s as if they had won, it’s an event. I’m fine with that, but if you get eliminated in the round of 16…”
Rothen then attacked Rennes, who failed to create the feat against AC Milan (3-2 victory for the Bretons) after the slap received in the first leg at San Siro (3-0 ). “The European Cup in Rennes, how long has it been, have you been playing in it? They went to Milan for sightseeing, I was ashamed, he lashed out. As a Frenchman, a French club that goes to a big one in Europe like Milan, which has a great history, but they went for tourism there. Fifth season, when will they grow up? It’s been five years, when will they gain experience? »
