Returning to Ligue 1 this season with Lorient, Tiémoué Bakayoko (29) has had a rich career, playing for Chelsea, AC Milan and Napoli. In a retrospective interview of his career for The Team, the defensive midfielder also spoke about his short international career. So in Monaco, he had his only selection in a friendly match against Spain in 2017. But he admits to not really feeling like an international: ” The french team ? It’s mixed… I’m not completely international, because I only have a selection. At Chelsea, I was disappointed not to return. France is world champion and there is a regret of not having been. I believed in it, but there are so many quality players in France. You wait, you work and you accept. »
A selection which deprives him of being able to play for his second country, Ivory Coast, which approached him just before: “When I am called up, I am closer to Ivory Coast, even if the Blues remain the ultimate dream. When you have dual nationality, you don’t realize how difficult it is to choose. Between the moment Didier Deschamps called me and the moment I said yes, I didn’t eat for two days, I had a lump in my stomach. In a way, if I were to play for Ivory Coast now, I would feel like I was disowning myself. But I’ve evolved a little, I’m not saying no, I’m not saying yes…”.
