“Maybe when you are eight, nine, 10 the coach can be influenced by the social level of the parents to put their kids into the team because the competition is not there. But once you reach a decent level from 15, even 13, the best are playing. No matter the colour, the origin, whatever, you put your best players in the team.”

French former professional footballer

Marcel Desailly is a French former professional footballer, active from 1986 to 2006. He played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder, and is known for a club career that brought him major honours in Europe, along with success for France on the international stage. At club level, he won UEFA Champions League titles with Marseille and AC Milan, and also played for Nantes and Chelsea, among other teams. For France, he earned 116 caps between 1993 and 2004 and scored three goals. He was part of the squads that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.