The pill still does not pass for Wendie Renard. Large absent from the list of the French women's team for Euro 2025, the emblematic defender of OL was quick to break the silence to express his bitterness. The one who hitherto embodied leadership and authority in the tricolor jersey today publicly settles his accounts with Laurent Bonadei, the French coach who has dismissed him to everyone's surprise.
Fox castigates an incomprehensible injustice
In an interview with The AthleticWendie Renard was extremely critical of Bonadei's decision, qualifying this “incomprehensible” sidelining and expressing a deep feeling of injustice and disbelief. “There are a lot of questions that trot in my head, that I keep for myself”,
She says, while adding that she can look at herself in the mirror, having a quiet conscience for having given everything for the French jersey. “Only God knows why I am not on this list”, she asserts with bitterness.
This media outing is added to a series of frustrations accumulated by Wendie Renard in selection in recent years. Already in open conflict with Corinne Diacre, who had removed the captain's armband in 2017, Renard also boycotted the selection before the 2023 World Cup to denounce an environment deemed incompatible with the very high level.
Wendie Renard, cold anger after her ouster from the Blue
A ridiculous justification according to the observers
For his part, Laurent Bonadei had justified his decision by clumsily quoting Albert Einstein : “Always do the same things hoping for different results is madness”. This reference, intended to defend his choice to exclude Renard, especially earned him mockery and criticism from observers, considering the justification at the limit of ridicule. Many even see in Bonadei the real ” mad “ of history, in view of his incomprehensible choice in the eyes of the general public.
The tension is now palpable between the player and her coach, and Renard's release adds a new chapter to an already complicated story. With 168 selections and 12 years as Captain of the Blue, she is undoubtedly one of the major figures of French women's football, making this spread even more difficult to accept.
The door remains open, but for how long?
Despite his frustration, Renard nevertheless claims to respect Bonadei's decision and sincerely wishes the team's success during the Euro. However, she forcefully specifies that her international career is not over: “I have always given everything for this jersey, my career is not over”. A subtle way of sending a clear message: it intends to come back as soon as possible, but not necessarily under the orders of Bonadei.
In the meantime, France will have to start its euro without it against England, reigning champion. With the risk that each underperformance inevitably revives controversy around the absence of its natural leader.
