Football: the 7 wasted French talents of modern football

Benzema, Ribéry, Kanté, Lloris… French players who have achieved a career worthy of their talent over the last decade. Nevertheless, French football has also known over the last ten years footballers who were promised a bright future. These talents are sometimes compared to the greatest from an early age. Some succeed, while others never reached the level expected of them. Here are 7 of modern football's biggest wasted talents:

Yohann Gourcuff (34 years old)

He was considered the successor of Zinedine Zidane… He exploded and impressed the France between 2008 and 2010, in Bordeaux. Before his rise to the Girondins, Gourcuff made his debut at Stade Rennais and AC Milan. In 2010, his arrival in Lyon was the start of his descent into hell. From 2015 to 2019, he played for his training club Stade Rennais and Dijon FCO. He played only 61 games in 4 years. Gourcuff had a real talent. But talent alone is not enough. He had 19 injuries during his career which is far too much to hope for anything in football. At present, Yoann Gourcuff, is not retired but without a club since January 23, 2019. When we trace his career there are necessarily regrets because the talent, he had it!

Hatem Ben Arfa (34 years old)

For a good number of observers, Hatem Ben Arfa could have had a career of very high level. He is a pure talent, a top player of the 87 generation. He impresses the world of football with his technical quality worthy of the greatest. Unfortunately for him, his character and career choices have played many tricks on him. Elected Ligue 1's best hope in 2008-2009, he left OL for OM. While he has everything to become a great, the Frenchman is too inconsistent and has trouble establishing himself as a holder of OM. During his time in England, he made an impression with his meteoric breakthroughs and world-class goals, but once again, his over-selfish character and irregularity prevented him from playing higher. He returned to France and more precisely to OGC Nice where he had his best season. He is an important player in the Nice squad and is quite regular. Then he joined the capital club where he did not play, he was on the downward slope. At PSG, no one gives him a chance. He will also play for Rennes, Valladolid and is currently with the Girondins. It is probably the biggest mess in French football.

Abou Diaby (34 years old)

When we think of Abou Diaby, we inevitably feel disappointed when we talk about his career. Auxerrois for several years, he joined the ranks of Arsenal in 2006. Very tall, agile and powerful, the player is the heir of Patrick Vieira, former glory of the Gunners. But now, just landed in the Premier League, Diaby is injured and does not return to the lawns for eight months. First injury in a series of 42 in nine years, hitting his hamstrings, ankles, calves, adductors and cruciate ligaments. Terrible, 1554 days of absence, or 222 weeks! Despite a few flashes here and there, such as his performances at the World Cup in 2010, his seasons are never complete and his career never really takes off. In 2015, he joined Olympique de Marseille as a freelancer. And, in February 2019, more than a year and a half after leaving the Marseille club, he announced that he was ending his career as a professional player, tired of all his repeated injuries.

Marvin Martin (33 years old)

Marvin Martin made his ranges at FC Sochaux and walked his first Ligue 1 pitch at the age of 20. Technical and far-sighted, it was in 2011 that he panicked the football world. Best passer of the championship and third at the European level this year, he is selected in the France team. Like Zizou, Marvin Martin slams a double for his first selection. We all remember the front page of Le Parisien: "Is he the new Zidane?". In 2012, he signed for LOSC but then suffered injuries and failures. In two and a half years, he missed about 350 days of competitions because he accumulated the round trips to the infirmary. From 2012 to 2017, he played only 90 games. He will also make stints at Dijon, Reims and Chambly in Ligue 2 where he currently plays. In his career, Marvin Martin has not been able to resist media pressure. He was in the spotlight too early.

Samir Nasri (33 years old)

Samir Nasri is trained at OM. After 4 great years in Provence, Nasri joined Arsenal for about 17 million Euros. After a fairly good first season, he was seriously injured in training and missed 3 months of competition. Despite this injury, Nasri bounced back and was voted French player of the year 2010 by France Football and was nominated for the title of best player in the Premier League for the 2010-2011 season. Thanks to his good performances at Arsenal, Nasri signed for Manchester City. However, the record of French is mixed and it quickly becomes undesirable. These poor performances will make him miss the World Cup 2014 and Euro 2016. He was loaned to Sevilla and then to Antalyaspor. However, Nasri was suspended for doping by UEFA in February 2018 until January 2019. Samir Nasri tried to bounce back at West Ham and RSC Anderlecht, where he was very disappointing. Despite an extraordinary talent, the native of Marseille, has surely lost himself in his football career. He never really knew how to impose himself in a club, he who often showed laziness.

Jérémy Menez (33 years old)

After the Under-17 Euro, Jeremy Menez signed professional at Sochaux becoming the youngest player in history to sign a pro contract in France. A technical player with both feet, Menez was quickly noticed and signed for AS Monaco in 2006 and AS Roma in 2008 for four years. For 5 years, he struggles to confirm and signs with a PSG who had just been bought by the Qataris. Star of the capital club upon his arrival, Menez does not impose itself because of the competition. He left PSG in 2014 in favor of AC Milan.  Menez exploded in his first season at AC Milan. He scored 16 goals in 33 games. His second season was marred by back pain. Jeremy Menez returns in France to the Girondins de Bordeaux. As at PSG, he is very irregular. He also made stints at Antalyaspor, Club América, Paris FC and Reggina 1914 in Serie B (current club). The French prodigy, from the famous "generation 87" with Ben Arfa, Nasri and Benzema, did not exploit all his talent. With the French selection, he has 24 caps.

Sébastien Frey (41 years old)

He's not the first person you think of when you talk about wasted talent. However, Frey was hyper precocious. At only 17 years old, he kept his first Ligue 1 cages, under the colors of AS Cannes, his training club. Courted by Inter Milan and Juventus at the end of his first season, Frey finally packed his bags for the Lombard capital. Loaned the following year to Hellas Verona, he exploded, imposing his spectacular style and energy. He will also visit Parma and Fiorentina. Despite his big performances, the successive coaches of the France team will not give him a chance. Only Raymond Domenech will offer him two caps, including a blunder against Ukraine. His knee injury in 2006 prematurely halted his career. He continued it at Genoa CFC in 2011 and then at Bursa in Turkey.