Radiant.

This is the word that sticks best to Adrien Rabiot since the start of this World Cup.

Indispensable on the pitch, where it allows Kylian Mbappé to evolve with a lot of freedom on the left side, and "bon vivant" outside, as Ibrahima Konaté defined it on Wednesday.

"He laughs with everyone, we can talk about everything with him, it's nice," added the Liverpool defender about a player he did not know well before this adventure in Qatar.

We would not have thought to write that a few years back, when the midfielder dragged the image of a selfish player, first taking care to be positioned where he wanted on the ground before thinking about the collective.

He dragged his outings like balls on his refusal to play sentinel at PSG or on the cold which had demotivated him during a match of the Blues in Bulgaria.

And then the highlight, his letter to Didier Deschamps explaining to him that he rejected the role of reservist for the 2018 World Cup.



His departure to Juventus in 2019 did him good, and after staying in the cellar for two years in the France team, DD called him back.

The packages of Paul Pogba and Ngolo Kanté today offer him a leading role, which he plays wonderfully.

The relationship with the coach has warmed up, as evidenced by what the latter said of him after France-Australia: “He is a player of balance, intelligent, he has the volume.

He recovers balls, he has a good heading game, had listed the coach.

He scores goals too, even if I stopped him at the end, because he wanted to go ahead again.

He won't do everything alone, but having Adrien at this level is very important for us.

»

Present this Wednesday at a press conference, Adrien Rabiot returned at length to his relationship with Deschamps.

Illuminating.

“It was two years where we had no contact at all, before I came back in 2020. When I came back, we talked straight away and it went very well.

I didn't really know what to expect, but we had a really good relationship straight away.

From selection to selection, the relationship has improved, we have gotten to know each other better, he understands me better, he knows my personality, we are much closer.

»

In the meantime, DD himself has changed in his management, experience helping.

The former coach of Juve and OM takes, even more than before, time to chat one-on-one with his players.

Everyone finds their place more easily in the collective project.

Rabiot, 27 today, is more aware of this.

The party at DD

“With the function, over time, he is certainly more serene, he approaches certain subjects more easily with the current generation, noted the midfielder.

I find him really very open, relaxed, even during a competition like that.

In 2016, I had another eye, I was younger, I really see now that he has this ease in human relations and I think that is a very important point.

This is why there is this osmosis.

»

After the beautiful words of Antoine Griezmann on Friday (“every action is like a thank you that I send him, that he is proud of his number 7”), here is a new tribute for Didier Deschamps, it seems to his peak in management.

It is not Noël Le Graët who will say the opposite.

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  • World Cup 2022

  • Soccer

  • Adrien Rabiot

  • Didier Deschamps

  • France football team

  • Sport