It was to be expected that the players called up for the Euro (June 14-July 14) by Didier Deschamps would not be able to continue with the Olympics: these are officially two players less from which to choose for Thierry Henry, and not lesser. According to information from France Info, which we are able to confirm, Paris Saint-Germain will not release either Bradley Barcola or Warren Zaire-Emery for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games this summer (July 28-August 11). This is authorized, since the Olympics are not on dates sacred by FIFA, the clubs are entitled not to release their players called up for this competition.
Despite the desire and Zaire-Emery and Barcola to participate in the Olympic adventure with the France team, the two players, who joined Clairefontaine in recent days to start preparation for Euro 2024, will not be there. In question, a schedule which already promises to be overloaded next season and a desire, on the part of the capital club, to protect two of the very important players in its squad.
The Champions League and the Club World Cup will load the calendars
Next season, in addition to the new formula of the Champions League which will include two additional group matches (8 instead of 6) and two potential play-off matches before reaching the round of 16, PSG will also play the New-look Club World Cup, which will take place from June 15 to July 13 in the United States. Not enough to lighten the schedules which are already overflowing for the players, especially at the young ages of Zaire-Emery (18 years old) and Barcola (21 years old).
The start of 2024 and the end of the season were particularly tiring and this could already be seen, particularly for Zaire-Emery who was in his first full season with PSG and who seemed to suffer in the final weeks of competition. . Both players understood this problem well and that it would be complicated to combine a full season with this busy summer, for their own good.
It was, ultimately, a matter of common sense not to make them do Euro and Olympic Games to ensure that they had sufficient recovery time this summer to be fresh and available for the resumption of the season – the PSG having set the resumption of training for July 15, they will probably take it along the way, depending on the result of the France team at the Euro.
A question mark also regarding Lucas Chevalier
Thierry Henry, the coach of the French Olympic team, had already accepted this possibility and had put forward his plans without formally counting on the two players. The Bleuets coach must announce a pre-list of players this Monday, June 3. The loss of Zaire-Emery and Barcola are, nevertheless, hard blows in the quest for the Olympic medal: the former top scorer in the history of the Blues had made the first his captain when he took up the post and the second has always been one of his selections.
Another potentially major player from Thierry Henry’s squad could also be missing: Lucas Chevalier. If no formal refusal from Losc has yet been made to him, and he will not participate in the Euro, the uncertainty is not resolved as far as he and the club are concerned. northerner could decide not to release its players. Indeed, as fourth in Ligue 1, Lille will play at the beginning of August, in the middle of the Olympics, a round-trip play-off to access the Champions League. A crucial issue, sportingly and financially, which could push the club not to release its players.
On the other hand, in terms of good news, Thierry Henry’s staff had confirmation that defender Castello Lukeba, selected 13 times for the Espoirs and once for the “big boys”, would be released by his Leipzig club.
