French journalist and broadcaster Matt Spiro has slammed Man City defender Aymeric Laporte after the player broke ranks to say that France manager Didier Deschamps has a vendetta against him.
In an interview, Laporte claimed that he wasn’t getting picked for his country for personal reasons.
However, Matt Spiro, the head of Ligue 1 global TV content, has said that Laporte is just another “modern-day footballer” who can’t accept that the problem might lie with him.
He went on to say that Laporte might be doing well for Man City but that he’s “heard his attitude when called up to (both to U21s and then to seniors) hasn’t been great.”
Laporte has not won a single cap for the senior France team.
So Aymeric Laporte is the latest player to think Deschamps has some kind of personal vendetta against him. Why can't the modern-day footballer just get over himself and think maybe he it's him, maybe he needs to do something different (or carry on working hard/doing things well)
— Matt Spiro (@mattspiro) December 14, 2018
Realise Laporte is doing well for #MCFC. That's great. But have also heard that his attitude when called up to (both to U21s and then to seniors) hasn't been great. Plus France have just won the World Cup, and we know Deschamps rewards loyalty. Just keep quiet and keep working
— Matt Spiro (@mattspiro) December 14, 2018
OPINION
Laporte has been called the best player never to have been picked for his country and it does seem that there’s something going on. The 24-year-old arrived from Athletic Bilbao in January for £58.5million and has been brilliant for Pep Guardiola this season. He’s made 23 appearances across all competitions, including all but one of City’s Premier League games, and has scored three goals. Is it Dechamps, as Laporte claims, or does the player have an attitude problem that’s alluded to by Spiro? Either way, his interview, which won’t make Deschamps happy, doesn’t seem to be the wisest move on the part of the player. You might not be happy that you’re not getting picked for your country, but history suggests that the best way to change that is to get your head down and keep playing well. Eventually you’ll become too hard to be ignored. Surely the worst way is to publicly criticise your manager and hope that has the desired effect? We can’t imagine we’ll see Laporte lining up for his country anytime soon, but Man City fans will probably be delighted by that.