Mathieu Valbuena saw his career with the French team change in the fall of 2015 when the sex tape affair broke out. Despite his victim status, the French midfielder was in fact dismissed by Didier Deschamps overnight. The Basque technician, who had made him one of his base men, never called him again and his explanations never convinced the native of Bruges.
Questioned by Jérôme Rothen at the RMC microphone, the one who now plays with the Olympiakos reserve returned to this episode. “The contact faded little by little. I remember this day when I was in the locker room at OL. The matter was over. Deschamps calls me and says: 'I'm not going to take you to this gathering to protect you. We're going to play at the Stade de France and I want to protect you.” he said.
“I answer: 'But protect me from what? I am a victim.' He replies: 'We're going to play in Paris, the affair is out, I can't put you in the den of the wolf…' I was very angry when I hung up. I was not called back again”,
he continued.
Mathieu Valbuena never digested
Ten years later, Mathieu Valbuena remains convinced that this affair cost him his place at Euro 2016. “The affair grew and my contacts with Deschamps faded. I spoke to him on the phone before the announcement of the 23 for Euro 2016. He called me to tell me that he was not taking me for sporting reasons. I didn't have a great season with Lyon, it's true, but we saw cases where players were good for the national team without being very successful at clubs. he recalled.
“I can take the example of the 2014 World Cup. I was coming off a complicated season at OM and I was still called up,” he stressed on this subject.
Mathieu Valbuena's counter in the France team will therefore remain stuck at 52 caps while paradoxically, Karim Benzema will be recalled for Euro 2020 before being deprived of the 2022 World Cup due to injury.
