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Chelsea 'block two players from being called up for international duty' in club vs country row

Chelsea 'block two players from being called up for international duty' in club vs country row

Chelsea have stopped two players from representing France at the Olympics this summer.

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

Chelsea have reportedly blocked TWO players from being called up to Thierry Henry's France squad for the Olympics.

Henry, who will take charge of France's football team at the Olympics, has named his 24-man provisional squad, which will be reduced to 18 players for the Paris games.

His squad is comprised of two players over the age of 23, with Crystal Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta and former Arsenal star Alexandre Lacazette the two allocated older players.

Mateta's teammate Michael Olise has also been selected by Henry, who is, however, without several key players.

That's because Chelsea have prevented Henry from including Benoit Badiashile and Malo Gusto in his France squad for the Olympics.

The football tournament at the Olympics is not ratified or formally recognised by FIFA, giving clubs the power to stop the release of their players for the competition.

Both Badiashile and Gusto failed to make Didier Deschamps' squad for Euro 2024.

Badiashile and Gusto played 22 and 37 games in all competitions respectively last season.

Enzo Maresca, who is set to be appointed by Chelsea ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, wants time to implement his style of play on the training pitch at Cobham, according to a report.

It's claimed that Maresca pushed back on the inclusion of Chelsea's French defensive duo as he wants to maximise his chances of hitting the ground running.

Benoit Badiashile and Malo Gusto won't be representing France at the Olympics. Image: Getty
Benoit Badiashile and Malo Gusto won't be representing France at the Olympics. Image: Getty

The Blues, though, have allowed Lesley Ugochukwu to feature for France at the Olympics, stating he needs minutes under his belt ahead of the new campaign, having missed the majority of last season with hamstring problems.

The 20-year-old midfielder made 15 appearances in all competitions last season.

Chelsea aren't the only Premier League side to deny Henry a player as Arsenal have stopped William Saliba from representing France at the Olympics.

SPORTbible have reached out to Chelsea for comment.

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: France, Football, Chelsea, Thierry Henry

Nasir Jabbar
Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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@NasJabbar