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The original was posted on /r/soccer by /u/Sparky-moon on 2026-03-17 16:14:20+00:00.
Original Title: Youssouf Fofana: “People will tell me: ‘Your pass completion rate isn’t at the level of the great midfielders.’ OK, but I have one argument: I take more risks. I’ve missed. Does that mean that technically, I’m weaker than them? I don’t know.“
Do you feel you are poorly evaluated?
Since people can’t quite figure me out, they don’t put me in any particular category of players. Someone made a compilation of me this summer. When he was done, he said: “You’re actually a really good player.” (Laughs.) You see? You have to sit down for ninety minutes and try to analyze, to understand, why I did this or attempted that. And at the end, you make your judgment. I like to take risks. Which no longer exists in today’s football, where everyone plays it safe. People will tell me: “Your pass completion rate isn’t at the level of the great midfielders.” OK, but I have one argument: I take more risks. I’ve missed. Does that mean that technically, I’m weaker than them? I don’t know.
Do you want creative football?
But that’s exactly why I started playing football! I don’t like sitting in front of my TV saying: wow, he’s really good, and then when I’m on the pitch, not trying to do the same. I’m genuinely tired of hearing: “OK, he’s too good, he does this and that.” Then do it! We have the incredible privilege of being out there. Let’s try! I’m not saying you should attempt impossible things. But I don’t want to say: I’m not going to try because I’m afraid of failing.
You suffer from the fact that your creative play isn’t noticed enough…
I’m an AC Milan player. There are people who see that. But when it comes to medium-term goals, it can be frustrating because it keeps me out of the conversation.
His absence from the national team: “If I’d known, I would have made the most of it”
What conversations?
Whether I can have my place at the World Cup, for example. Right now, as far as the media are concerned, I’m not part of the conversation. That’s a shame.
How do you feel about not having been called up since October 2024?
At first, I took it pretty hard; I wondered why I wasn’t being called up. But eventually, I watched the matches and told myself: OK, Youssouf, there are other midfielders, and they’re just as good. Whether you’re there or not, the French national team gets the same results. So you have to work hard. And be patient.