Benjamin Pavard has been accused of ‘creating a toxic atmosphere’ in the France camp after he was left on the sidelines for much of the World Cup in Qatar.
Pavard was one of the stars of the 2018 World Cup as the Frenchman helped his nation win the competition.
The Bayern Munich defender was part of Didier Deschamps’ squad that were out to retain the World Cup trophy in Qatar.
The 26-year-old started France’s World Cup opening game as they beat Australia 4-1. Les Bleus fell behind early on but Kylian Mbappe and Giroud got on the scoresheet as the champions turned it around.
This was the only match Pavard ended up playing in Qatar as Barcelona defender Jules Kounde started at right-back for the rest of the tournament.
This is despite Kounde being a natural central defender and having more experience playing through the middle.
France missed players like Karim Benzema and Christopher Nkunku through injury but they were still able to make it through to the final of the World Cup.
They ultimately fell short though as they drew 3-3 with Argentina after extra-time before they were eventually lost 4-2 on penalties.
French reporter Romain Molina appears to know the reason why Pavard did not play much in Qatar. His report has been cited on Twitter by iMiaSanMia.
‘While on the bench, Benjamin Pavard has been making ‘inappropriate’ remarks about his teammates, especially in the final, where the situation escalated and there were ‘big words’ between him and the coach. Pavard’s attitude created a toxic atmosphere internally.
‘Pavard has always been considered one of Deschamps’ favourites by several players.
‘According to them, there’s a gap between his performances and the status he claims. ‘The coaching staff criticized Pavard, which the player didn’t accept and he started to respond with words.
‘That made the staff angry because they had protected him for years despite his average performances sometimes.
‘Pavard is being accused by some of his France teammates of leaking internal dressing room stuff to the press due to his relationship with certain journalists.’
Pavard could benefit from Deschamps stepping down as the France manager’s current contract has expired now that the World Cup is over.
