Thanks to Real Madrid’s unsurprising victory in the final of the 2024 Intercontinental Cup against Pachuca (3-0), Wednesday in Qatar, Aurélien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga and Kylian Mbappé enter the closed circle of French players who won this competition . As a reminder, Fifa “revived” the Intercontinental Cup (which was contested from 1960 to 2004) when it expanded its Club World Cup to 32 (to be played in summer, in this case in the States). -United in June and July 2025).
Claude Makelele and Zinédine Zidane were the last French players to win the Intercontinental Cup, already with Real, in 2002 (against Club Olimpia). Willy Sagnol and Bixente Lizarazu had been crowned with Bayern the year before against Boca Juniors. Mikaël Silvestre started with Manchester United in a success against Palmeiras in 1999 and Didier Deschamps won the competition in 1996 with Juventus.
Mbappé after JPP and Platoche!
But Mbappé is even stronger! Author of the first Madrid goal against the Mexican team of Pachuca (on a caviar from Vinicius, author of a genius leg pass in front of the opposing goalkeeper), the tricolor prodigy becomes the 4th French player to score in the Cup Intercontinental. Two other French Ballons d’Or have shaken the nets in the history of the Intercontinental Cup.
Jean-Pierre Papin (in 1993 but for a defeat of Milan against Sao Paulo), the triple Ballon d’Or Michel Platini (penalty scorer with Juventus against Argentinos Juniors in 1985) as well as the Franco-Argentinian Nestor Combin (in 1969 with AC Milan against Estudiantes) scored in an Intercontinental Cup match. No French club has ever participated in this competition, OM having been excluded in 1993 after the OM-VA affair.
