One by one, France’s FIFA 2018 World Cup heroes have been saying goodbye to Les Bleus with longtime captain Hugo Lloris and defensive stalwart Raphael Varane following Blaise Matuidi into international retirement after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann have both since followed suit and N’Golo Kante could be joining them shortly as he finds himself out of Didier Deschamps’ October plans despite having featured in September’s squad after an unexpected starring role at UEFA Euro 2024.
One of the key figures in the French triumph in Russia six years ago was Paul Pogba, who has recently learned that he will be able to return to professional soccer next March around the time that he turns 32, which leaves him a few years to potentially play at a fairly high level. Is the Juventus midfielder already in this band of former France internationals consigned to a glittering history, having not been able to add Euro success to their world title, or will Pogba get the chance to rehabilitate himself in order to dream of a potential swansong with Les Bleus?
Kante already showed at this summer’s Euros in Germany that age is not an obstacle under Deschamps who will presumably ride out the current pressure that he is under after the French underwhelmed in Germany and are off to a slow start in the UEFA Nations League. Pogba, then, must be at least assessing how his teammates from 2018 are faring in their respective careers and will have been particularly mindful of those who have spent time out of the game for a variety of reasons albeit mainly physical.
Samuel Umtiti, Corentin Tolisso and Benjamin Mendy all arguably reached the high points of their respective careers in Russia and that same trio all ply their trade in their homeland these days as they attempt to salvage what they can of their remaining years at the top. Brutal injuries have ravaged both Umtiti and Tolisso while Varane also ended his international career in an attempt to add years to his club days with Manchester United and Como 1907 but that was cut astonishingly short with the 31-year-old’s recent retirement from professional soccer.
Varane might be moving into a coaching role with the Italian side but Lille OSC’s Umtiti and Olympique Lyonnais’ Tolisso are still grappling with their physical demons while FC Lorient’s Mendy is a completely different case given his well-documented legal issues in the past. Those are not the only examples that Pogba will be looking at, though, with Lucas Hernandez and Ousmane Dembele needing to be reborn away from Bayern Munchen and Barcelona, with both also choosing to do that in France albeit with Paris Saint-Germain.
Hernandez, like Umtiti, Tolisso and Varane, has been desperately unlucky with injuries having put his body on the line in 2022 which saw Bayern dispense of his services only to see him return to impressive individual performance levels in Paris before injury struck yet again. Dembele has just been Dembouz as we have always known him for much of that time, although he did struggle to live up to cripplingly high expectations in Catalonia, but has made good on the talent that had him emerging as part of Deschamps’ plans back in 2018 and now is key with PSG.
Presnel Kimpembe is likely to be next up ahead of Pogba as he attempts to return with Les Parisiens before the end of the year after a long list of physical issues which can be traced back to the aftermath of his rise to being a France regular and PSG leader. However, not yet turning 30 and still being under an extended contract with the French champions should offer Kimpembe a strong chance of rebounding which is unlikely to be the case with Pogba as Juve are already exploring a separation with the French star while he remains on a minimal salary.
Pogba is likely to be without a club when it comes time to make his decision, so where that next chapter lies needs to be solved first and foremost but at 32, which he will be next March, time is running out even if there is a need for midfield quality. Ligue 1, Major League Soccer and Saudi Arabia have all been mooted as potential destinations for the ex-Manchester United man, but it is wherever offers him the highest quality of soccer and how fit he can make himself that will ultimately dictate whether we ever see him with France once again.
