Hugo Lloris has revealed returning to Tottenham too soon after the World Cup led to his eventual departure from the club, where he became ‘transparent’ and ‘pushed aside’.
The goalkeeper has been speaking to Le Parisien as he gears up to watch France at Euro 2024 and enjoy doing so, after retiring from international duty last year.
The 37-year-old is currently plying his trade in America with LAFC after leaving Tottenham in January on a free transfer.
That brought an end to a 12-year stay with Spurs, where he had been the number one for the entirety of that time and made 447 appearances in total.
He had also established himself as the number one for his country, making his debut in November 2008 and going on to make 145 appearances in total, playing in four World Cups and three Euros.
That run came to an end in 2022, with the World Cup final defeat to Argentina his last for Les Blues and seeing him depart as his country’s most capped player and with 20 World Cup appearances under his belt.
That was the start of a downward turn for the veteran, who quickly found himself out of contention at Tottenham upon his return and then replaced by Guglielmo Vicario come the summer.
And he admits coming back from the World Cup early started that slide, which left him pretty much forgotten about by a club he’d represented for more than a decade.
“I started again too soon, too hard. I was exhausted and only had four days to recharge,” he said.
“I was having trouble reconnecting, getting back into my routine, finding motivation. The World Cup came too soon after the championship break, and the championship resumed too soon after the World Cup.
“In January, I knew it was going to be difficult, I was going to have to grit my teeth, but I planned to rely on the collective. But there, my teammates were in the same state of psychological fatigue as me, and it got to me. I took refuge in work, thinking that things would be better in February. Except that, when my sensations returned, my body gave up.
“It was a combination of several factors: the team was lacking results and the coach, under pressure, was losing patience. Therefore, the group dynamic was negative.
“Tottenham were coming to the end of a cycle, and so was I. I knew that Tottenham wanted to recruit younger players, especially in my position. Summer was approaching and I was no longer part of the plans.
“When the championship resumed, in August 2023, the coach informed me that I would no longer enter the field, that I would only be a training player. I was pushed aside, I had become transparent.”
