‘We cannot undress to dress the French team’ – Rennes dent Henry’s Olympic plans
There has been another blow to Thierry Henry’s Olympic preparation as Stade Rennais became the latest club to suggest that it would not release players for the tournament.
The problem for Henry’s under-23s squad is that FIFA does not consider the Olympics to be an international tournament and therefore clubs have the choice whether they release their players to the competition or not.
Unlike Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid who have shown an unwillingness to allow any of their players to compete at the Summer Olympics for France, Rennes were more concerned about the number of players that were to be called up.
Henry in last weekend’s international break relied upon three Rennes players within his squad: Arnaud Kalimuendo (22), Désiré Doué (18), and Adrien Truffert (22). However, Florian Maurice, the sporting director for Rennes, has cast doubts over all those players being allowed to represent France at the Olympics.
Maurice explained, “We cannot undress to dress the French team. Even if I have a lot of affection for the Espoirs or the France team.” He continued, “It’s difficult for us and they have to understand that.”
Maurice dismissed the idea that there would be a set quota on how many players would be allowed to go but stated “I don’t want to give an exact number but it will take discussions with the coaches of these French teams.”
GFFN | Nick Hartland
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