"I wish a very good competition to the France team. I don't know yet if I will go to Qatar", declared the icon of the round ball, at the Grévin museum, in Paris, where he came to inaugurate a new wax statue of him.

Since the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar in December 2010, the competition, which will begin on November 20, has sparked much controversy on subjects such as respect for human rights and the protection of the environment.

The working conditions of the foreign workers who built the infrastructure and the running of the competition in eight stadiums, seven of which emerged from the ground for the tournament, are regularly denounced.

Asked about the 2022 World Cup, "ZZ" found it necessary to "give way to the game and the World Cup for all enthusiasts who just want to see football", and so that they "have a good time".

"Anyway, what we are going to say about anything, it will never be right, never true and timely," he added.

The footballer, star of the World Cup in 1998, was surrounded by his parents, his wife and his children.

"It's a privilege to be at the Grévin museum and even more so to have been requested by visitors. I come back with less hair. I'm delighted to be back. I'm someone reserved outside the pitch. It touches me all the more to be here with all my family," he said.

Only before him, General de Gaulle, Elizabeth II, Julien Clerc, Pierre Richard and Bernard Pivot were entitled to their wax doubles at several periods of their lives.

Represented for the first time in the official uniform of the France team - blue jersey and white shorts - with his hair, the new Zidane returns in a sober coach's city suit... with a bald spot.

Considered one of the greatest players and coaches in the history of football, Zinédine Zidane inaugurated his wax double in 1999 at the same time as that of Fabien Barthez.

The statue had been stored for a few years, the Grévin museum judging it not sufficiently successful.

The new wax "Zizou" was installed alongside those of other football stars: Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but also the other god of the stadium, King Pelé.

© 2022 AFP