In our exclusive interview, the former defender discusses France's World Cup chances, Chelsea's target for next season with Xabi Alonso and PSG's impact on French football.
Former French international defender Marcel Desailly believes the current World Cup squad is far better than the team who made it to the 2022 final, but needs the right formula in order to succeed.
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What will be the target for next season at Chelsea?
They need a three-year plan to eventually be thinking about winning the Premier League after the second year, then winning the Champions League after the third.
They have experienced a lot of coaches with different profiles. Enzo Marseca was a good one because he was able to boost the discipline of young players. But for me, [Xabi] Alonso is the perfect one. He can understand the young players that we have in the system and grow them like he did at Leverkusen.
With Chelsea now, the board should allow one coach to develop his philosophy with the players that he really wants. Do not give the coach a list of five players and then deliver his fourth choice from that list.
They need to do exactly what Paris Saint-Germain did with Luis Enrique, where they allowed the coach to build up his philosophy around the players that he needs.
Do you think Alonso will be given time at the club if they weren’t to win a trophy next season?
It’s strongly obvious that Chelsea will find it difficult to win the Premier League next season. Guardiola is gone, but Man City is still there as an established team. Arsenal has the winning mentality now and Manchester United have finished very strongly.
I think next season Chelsea need to build up a team according to the combination of players who they bring on board. Currently their team is too young, they need a goalkeeper and they need that experienced defensive player who is the first choice on his national team.
They also need to stop using Enzo Fernandez as the playmaker in a 4-2-3-1. Yes, has scored goals in that system, but his ability and skills are more suited next to Moises Caicedo. There is also Reece James who can play as a defensive midfielder if they play two in the middle.
Also, if Cole Palmer stays, they to give him the chance to express himself and eventually be the one that replaces Fernandez in the formation.
There is also a need for an experienced striker. The ones they have are good players, but you need that experience and understanding so you can be a point of reference. That is someone who can drop back into midfield for the ball or make a run that brings wingers into the game.
It will be about if they bring in the correct players and whether the Chelsea board understand that in modern football, big names do not always solve things. You’ve seen it with many teams, PSG for example. They needed a good balance of players that matched with the philosophy of the coach.
Who would be your dream signing this summer for Xabi Alonso and Chelsea? Is there anyone from the French national team you would recommend?
There’s not many in the market from the French team. Obviously, we have to put aside Mbappe and Dembele. Desire Doue is not really a striker or that point of reference. They need a difference maker, like an Inzaghi or a Crespo.
It’s the same for someone like Bradley Barcola. I believe he still needs to learn a little more and improve his understanding of the game. He’s an amazing talent, but he would not suit Chelsea yet.
A player who would could suit the profile is former Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez. If you give him the confidence and belief, he will not feel shy because the people in the system are a higher grade than him. That is what happened to him at Liverpool. There were too many players higher grade than him, so he couldn’t express himself. At Chelsea, I’m sure he would express himself and perform.
They need a striker but I’m not sure exactly who it will be or where they will get him. Unless they find one in Germany who we don’t know much about yet, but they have to match the profile of what Chelsea is looking for.
Are there any players you think Alonso may look to move on from or replace?
It got tiring hearing that Palmer might go to United because he’s from Manchester and is a fan of them. That sort of thing almost kills the spirit at the club. The fact that he hasn’t gone to the World Cup will probably make him think of his future.
Alonso will need to consult the players one-on-one and ask them what their wish is. He might be ready to let players go if they are looking for something different than Chelsea. We are not playing European football next season, so are the players ready to raise the level and be with us on a three-year plan?
If not, they have to get rid of them. If a player is unsure about his future, it means he’s not ready for the fight. Only Alonso will be able to identify the commitment level of players.
There are probably four or five players that he has to move into the squad. But as a player, when a new coach arrives you can’t be scared, as everyone that was a first choice for the previous coach were a part of the failure – so they are potentially out of the team.
But it will come back to the board again. They had the concept of buying expensive young players and hoping they will grow into the system. That was a mistake last season after winning the Club World Cup. That was the moment experienced players should have come in, instead of believing youngsters could do the job.
People thought they were mad when they bought young players but it was their plan, and it worked when they won the Conference League and Club World Cup. But there was maybe an element of ego about Chelsea after they had a good three years, and that ego could have been what led to them performing poorly this season.
Levi Colwill looked impressive when he came back from injury, do you think he was unlucky to miss out on the World Cup squad?
Top players don’t miss big competitions. Few top players got injured in front of a major tournament. But yet again he is another player with potential who the media have placed big expectations on.
But as I said, top players most of the time don’t get injured. They are there at the key moments throughout their football career. The ability is there with him, but potential is not enough, especially for Chelsea.
Will Liverpool regret not getting Alonso ahead of Chelsea after they ultimately decided to part with Arne Slot?
It gives us an indication that this has been done last minute. They won the league after Klopp with a similar dynamic and system. But this season they realised that on several occasions he [Arne Slot] made mistakes. There were tactical mistakes with the usage of players and with the team setup.
There was also the situation with Salah which worked against the manager. But when you look at it individually, you see that the coach is responsible for some of the matches that they lost. His tactical setup was not good.
Luckily for Chelsea I really believe that Alonso is the correct coach for them. He is a young manager and has only coached at the top level for a few years, so he has the time. Chelsea will probably give him the tools to get to the next level.
But both Liverpool and Chelsea are in the same condition, even though Liverpool have more experienced players, they also have a new coach. So, there is a big task at Liverpool as well.
Who do you believe will win the World Cup and why?
I have to say France. But on the other hand, I believe from Portugal could be there because when you look at individual players, they have the spirit that you need.
That’s why Portugal is one of my favourites in the tournament. It’s obvious that Spain will be there with their possession football and they beat France in the semi-final of the Euros quite easily.
I don’t know if there will be a surprise African team. Senegal looks good. Ivory Coast beat France in a friendly, but I’m not sure they can make it.
It’s tough to predict because a long group stage makes it super difficult. The third best from each group will also go through so you also need to be a bit lucky.
Argentina will depend so much on Messi, and I really feel that there is a little drop in his performance. He had his luck in Qatar where all the stars were aligned for him to win. But I would also like Cristiano Ronaldo to be rewarded in a way because those two have been the best players of this generation.
Do you think France’s team has improved since their last World Cup Final appearance in 2022, and their 2018 win? Have they got enough to win it this time?
When you look at the six up front, they look much better. It’s an amazing squad. But Didier Deschamps has to find the correct formula. It’s not easy because Dembele may have to play on the right but he will always want to be next to Mbappe as a front two.
Maybe Didier will play with a 4-4-2. You also have Olise who likes to be a playmaker, so in a 4-2-3-1 you are suddenly asking him to track back as a winger. So Didier has a real task to move these players around, but the squad is there.
I stand by my words, there is real potential in this team, and they are far better than they were in 2022.
Do you see any similarities between your 1998 World Cup winning team and the current squad?
They have better talent, but most of the players in the 1998 team were around 30-years-old, so it means we were different. We were established players already.
Since 2018, only a few players are still in the squad, but we experienced the 1996 tournament, and in ‘98 at least 15 players were still there.
They are more talented than our generation, but we were probably more intelligent than them from an experience point of view. We also had a system that was more about experienced players and warriors that allowed Zidane to perform. The current France team don’t have that yet.
There is plenty of talent, but we don’t know who that one key player will be that makes the difference. Even in 2018, Mbappe had the protection of Griezmann and Giroud that allowed him to shine.
But overall, it’s tough because you can never really compare generations.
William Saliba looks like he’ll be fit to play. How important is he for France?
I have to apologise to Saliba because those first years in Arsenal, I was not convinced about him at all. But he has really shown great leadership and consistency with his performances. He’s really reliable and it seems easy to play with him.
Whether it’s with Konate or Upamecano, it’s easy. Saliba brings leadership with the way he can adjust and adapt. When it’s Konate and Upamecano together, you feel that something is missing. Saliba really brings stability to that defence.
For me, the vice captain of the French team should be Saliba. That would allow Dembele to be free and shine like the Ballon d’Or winning player that he is.
Do you think Saliba is the best centre-back in the world? If not, who is?
I would say it’s him because we’ve been a little bit disappointed with Virgil Van Dijk. He’s [Van Dijk] still a top defender, but he doesn’t go 1v1 to get the ball from an opponent.
Saliba is always ready for a battle. I don’t think Upamecano is doing as well as Saliba with Bayern Munich. So there are not many names who I would say compete with Saliba.
Kylian Mbappe is only four goals behind Klose for most World Cup goals – where do you rank him compared to other French strikers of the past like Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet?
He’s Ballon d’Or level. But I find it difficult to say that Mbappe is better than Thierry Henry or someone else.
He has shown great skills and great ability, but the fact Mbappe has not played in the Premier League makes it hard to compare. Thierry Henry is the best player we have seen in the Premier League, so I feel that Mbappe still has something to achieve before we can say he’s above Thierry.
Yes, Mbappe has done well in the French and Spanish leagues, and they have both won a World Cup, but it is not the Premier League so that is why I still give the advantage to Thierry.
But Mbappe is still young and in the next three to four years he will only be in his early 30s, so he could still prove us wrong and move above Thierry.
Didier Deschamps has announced his intention to leave the role of France coach, what have you made of his time there and who might replace him?
It’s been magnificent. When you think about how close they were to winning Euro 2016 as well it puts it into perspective. But he is just an amazing manager, even when you look at club level with Monaco and Marseille. He brought Juventus back to Serie A as well.
But you could see it when he took over the national team, his management skills were above many, many coaches and look at what he has done in this era.
Everybody says Zidane will take over, and Didier has given him a great legacy to follow on from. France will go to the next three or four competitions with quality players and understanding of the responsibility of being in a national team.
If Zidane does take over, he will also benefit from the way he [Deschamps] has structured the federation and the coaching program because it’s not all about coaching the first team.
If he doesn’t win this one tournament, I truly believe if he stayed, he would win the Euro 2028 with the generation of players that he has. But all I can say is good luck to the next coach.
Marseille have not won the Ligue 1 title since 09/10 – what do you think they need to do as a club to close that gap and get back to title challengers?
Whatever manager or players you put in the system at Marseille, they find it difficult to handle the pressure.
I think they need to buy players with a little bit more experience, and if they don’t have that experience, they need to discuss within the club whether that player can handle the pressure.
You see it in the performances at Marseille, it’s up and down constantly not just on the pitch but with elements surrounding the club. Look at De Zerbi and the way they started the season – with Adrian Rabiot fighting a teammate.
They need to check players before they are bought. Can he handle the pressure, and does he have the killer mentality? Because it’s true, I played there so I know – you feel the pressure when you play, but you also feel it in your daily life. Some players can’t handle the combination of the two. So, they need players and staff that can handle a club like Marseille.
Roberto De Zerbi had a strong start to his time at Marseille, but it deteriorated towards the end – what did you make of his time at the club and how they have performed since he left?
He did well, but I think he tried to be too smart every single weekend with new tactics and system changes. That might work for an established team, but I’m sure he has learned from his mistakes.
He needs to stick to the essentials, not try to invent and bring players a task that they can’t handle because that could lead to failure and players could turn against you. Players now have so much power and it’s not on purpose that they don’t play well, but once a player is mentally not linked with his coach, performance is affected. If results are impacted, then it’s the coach who is directly responsible.
But he’s a very good coach and I’m sure his time will come when he finds a club that has the winning mentality to match him. That could be with Tottenham or maybe it’s another team.
Do you think De Zerbi is a good fit for Tottenham as they look to turn things around?
He saved them from relegation and with that comes adrenaline that almost has the same effect as winning the league. There will be some belief in the system because they could have been in the Championship next season, but in the last minutes they saved themselves.
I’m sure there will be some bitterness about almost being relegated, so now they must try and believe in what the coach is putting in place so that next season is the first step to success.
PSG have won their second consecutive Champions League. Is their dominance a good thing for French football?
It’s good to boost the interest of Ligue 1 knowing that it was not that easy for PSG this season, and it shows the league is at a good level. Even though Lens have changed coach they are a team everyone will discover next season. It looks like Pierre Sage will leave the club for Crystal Palace, but he built up a team to reach the Champions League.
But as I said, it’s good there is an interest in French football, and PSG as a brand benefits everybody because they help everything around them grow.
From a footballing point of view, if I was to be asked who PSG might bring into the team next season, I could not name a player. So they have to go again for the same things. They have the perfect squad for next season.
Eventually the goalkeeper will maybe go, but they will bring in a top goalkeeper anyway. But as a club they have been there for a long time, and they will do it again next season. Mentally, physically, psychologically, and tactically they will continue to perform.
I’m not a Paris Saint-Germain fan, but honestly what they are producing has my attention. It keeps me watching because I’m interested in what Luis Enrique has done to them technically and tactically. To put it simply, they are an amazing ambassador for French football.
Is there anything other teams can do to close the gap to PSG in France?
PSG have been at the top for a long time, but Monaco and Lille have both won a title in the middle of that dominance. Unless PSG have a fight at managerial level, the smartness of Nasser Al-Khelaifi and the sporting directors will remain so key.
We never expected some of the players they bought to be at that level. Pacho, Vitinha and Neves for example, where did they come from? All the players have been incredible.
But as a club they are still climbing, and I don’t see when the drop will come.
Who is a Ligue 1 player that people in England should know more about?
Barcola is a player that is often being spoken about. I think he has been a bit frustrated this past season because he’s not had as much playing time as he would want, so he might be able to make the switch to the Premier League eventually. He’s very talented and only 23, but I don’t think he’s quite ready for an abroad experience yet.
