Thomas Heurtel, here on Monday with the France team in the last qualifying match for Euro 2022 against Great Britain.

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Nikola Krstic // SIPA

  • More than ten years after revealing himself with Pau-Orthez and Strasbourg, Thomas Heurtel is back in the French championship.

  • Released from his contract at FC Barcelona, ​​the 31-year-old playmaker has just signed up until the end of the season, this Wednesday, with Tony Parker's Asvel.

  • The international tricolor will only play the Jeep Elite and the Coupe de France, not being able to qualify for the Euroleague.

Asvel looks more and more like a small French team.

Already relying on six international tricolors (Diot, Lacombe, Kahudi, Howard, Yabusele and Fall), the Villeurbanese club has just formalized this Wednesday the signing, until the end of the season, of the playmaker of the Blues Thomas Heurtel.

Released from his contract with FC Barcelona last month, the 31-year-old is a major recruit in the bloated workforce of Asvel, even if he can not be qualified for the Euroleague matches.

MVP moves for the MVP 👑



What a return for @ MT28APRIL 👊



🎥 @fiba #TeamFranceBasket #EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/hd2Z7vYkkw

- French Basketball Teams ⛹️‍♂️⛹️‍♀️ (@FRABasketball) February 20, 2021

The leader of 1.89 m, who will therefore play the Jeep Elite and the Coupe de France, remains on a big game (16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists), Saturday against Montenegro (71-73), to qualify the France team at Euro 2022. It was their first official meeting in two months, which says a lot about their current state of form.

"We saw with the France team how much Thomas is extremely motivated to finish the year strong," insists Tony Parker.

"Big financial sacrifices" to engage with Asvel

For the president of Asvel, there is no doubt that Thomas Heurtel "will be a real leader to help us get titles on the national scene".

He underlines in a press release "the big financial sacrifices" of the person concerned in order to come to finish the season in the Rhône.

"It is a beautiful mark of confidence, the sign that Asvel is a real reference for the best French basketball players", insists "TP", who was forfeited in the France team for the most resounding performance of Thomas Heurtel.

During a memorable success in the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup against a Spain on home soil (52-65), the 2013 European champion had captured 13 points, including a key three-point shoot in the

money time

.

Six and a half years later, French basketball fans continue to shout "Give me your shorts" as soon as they hear the name of the neo-Villeurbanne.

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