France goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris has announced his retirement from football at the age of 33 after leading the team to the 2022 World Cup final.
The Spurs and France stopper, who won the 2018 World Cup with France and led the team to the 2022 World Cup final announced his retirement immediately after his former Tottenham teammate Gareth Bale hung the boots.
Hugo Lloris won 145 caps with France national team and was instrumental to the team’s 2018 World Cup winning run, including UEFA Nations League win in 2021.
Taking to his Twitter account to announce his retirement, Hugo Lloris wrote;
‘There comes a time when you have to know how to hand over the reins. I have always said over and over again that the French team doesn’t belong to anyone, and we all have to make sure that’s the case, me first.
‘I prefer to go out at my peak than wait for a downturn. There is also a family choice, I feel the need to spend more time with my wife and children.’
Lloris’ international career stretched from 2008 to 2022 and saw him play in four World Cups and three European Championship tournaments.
He captained them to global glory in Russia in 2018, before his side fell short four years later, losing 4-2 on penalties against Lionel Messi’s Argentina in December.
Lloris’ former Spurs colleague Bale also announced his retirement on Monday 9 January from both club and country duties, with immediate effect.
France national team manager Didier Deschamps reacts
France national team coach Didier Deschamps, who began to work with Hugo Lloris since taking over the reins as France manager was quick to react to Hugo Lloris’s retirement.
He heaped praises on the 33-year-old for the great role he played in the team as the team captain. Deschamps said after he retained Hugo Loris as France captain he has never regretted doing so and the Tottenham star has lived up to the bidding.
He said: ‘Beyond all the records that his talent and professionalism have allowed him to beat, beyond the essential role that he has played in our most beautiful conquests, Hugo is a remarkable person on a human level. Captain when I became coach in 2012, I kept the armband for him and I never came to regret it, quite the contrary.
‘Hugo has a very high idea of the French team, he has always been oriented towards the collective, and he has always put the collective forward, sometimes even to his detriment.
‘It was a pleasure and an honour for me to be his coach. I wish all coaches have players like him to manage. Hugo has all my respect and gratitude. I wish that he will be happy. A big thank you, Hugo, for having represented your country so well.’
Hugo Lloris
Born on 26 December 1986 in Nice France, Hugo Hadrien Dominique Lloris is a French former professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
Hugo Lloris started his football career, playing for Cedac Cimiwz and Nice. He made his first senior appearance for Nice II in 2005, and joined the club’s first team the same year, making 72 appearances.
In 2008, he joined Lyon where he made 146 appearances before moving to the Premier League in 2012, where he plays for Tottenham.
He has made 353 appearances for Tottenham and has recorded no goal throughout his professional career.
National team stats
Hugo Lloris made his debut for France national team in 2008, after playing for the U-18, U-19, U-20, and U-21 levels.
He has been capped 145 times and has won a series of trophies with the team and individual awards.
At Lyon, Hugo Lloris won the Coup De Franc and Trophes Des Champions. He won the EFL Cup and reach the final of the UEFA Champions League with Tottenham
With France, he has won the UEFA Nations League and the FIFA World Cup.
