Asked about the rumour that French president Nicolas Sarkozy has offered him a post in the French government last December, former Barcelona player Lilian Thuram (37) has confirmed the offer in an interview with French newspaper Le Monde:
"It's true. I've met Nicolas Sarkozy and Claude Guénat, his chief of staff, who offered me to become Minister of Diversity.
We had a long discussion. But for obvious reasons (Thuram has been very critical about Sarkozy and his policies over the last few years, btz), I could only refuse the offer...
Politics is something very noble which doesn't allow that you're just doing it like that. You have to learn things. That's what I'm doing right now by meeting people with all kinds of views. At this moment I don't want to enter politics, but maybe one day..."
Lilian Thuram joined Barcelona in the summer of 2006, arriving from relegated Italian club Juventus in a package deal with right back Gianluca Zambrotta. He left the club last summer when his contract expired. Few weeks later, the Frenchman retired because of a heart condition. With Barcelona, Thuram won one Spanish super cup in 2006.
Read more:
OFFICIAL: Thuram retires
Heart problem could cause end of Thuram's career
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Thuram rejected offer to become French minister
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4 comments:
Great to hear...Thuram is an upstanding person and we all know what kind of politcian Sarkozy is
During the French riots in November 2005, Thuram took a position against Nicolas Sarkozy, the head of the conservative political party UMP and President of the French Republic. Thuram was opposed to the verbal attacks against young people that the then-Minister made when he talked about the "scum", and he said that Nicolas Sarkozy never lived in a suburban estate.[6]
On September 6, 2006, Thuram sparked controversy when he invited 80 people, who were expelled by French Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy from a flat where they lived illegally, to the football match between France and Italy. [7][8] He has also engaged in campaigns that favour the Catalan language and that favour the independence of Roussillon (Catalonia Nord) from France.
Source:wikipedia
It's obvious why he didn't take the offer. A solid CB with an intellectual background.
I'm glad he finished his career at Barca. Hope his heartcondition is better.
huh, weird, because wasn't Sarkozy involved in PSG transfers last summer?
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