“Zidane’s thing was not a question of money”
The desire of all parties that Zinedine Zidane took over the management of the French national football team was so strong that the former captain of the Bleus and the president of the Federation, Philippe Diallo, “did not talk about money”, according to the latter declared on Wednesday, a day after the appointment of the new French coach. “Honestly, it is not a question of money,” said the president of the FFF when asked on the ‘France Inter’ radio station about Zidane’s salary.
These statements were made in the context of a new rule that limits annual remuneration in French sports federations to 450,000 euros (except ministerial exemption), after the approval of the professional sports reform on July 21. “I met with Zidane in February 2025. We don’t talk about money. We talk about desire: about a federation that wants the French team to win and about a player who dreams in blue. And we don’t talk about money,” Diallo declared, refusing to reveal the salary of Didier Deschamps’ successor.
“I don’t think that’s what our fans are looking for. What they want is to see Zidane on the bench, to see the French team win and to make sure that the DNA of our team – uniting the French around it – is realized through victories,” he added.
Regarding the objectives set for Zidane, Diallo was once again cautious, although he stressed the need to approach each game seriously to avoid falling into a negative spiral like that of Italy. “When participating in a major competition, the first step is to qualify. And if we look at the results of some of our neighbors… Italy has already missed the World Cup three times. Therefore, we must always be alert in this aspect. Once in the final phase, the goal is to reach the semifinals; that is the traditional objective,” he said.
“And then, when you are a competitor – like Zinédine Zidane or the French national team players – the goal is to win. So our goal over the next four years will be to do everything possible to win trophies,” he concluded.
