PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot is being widely criticised after refusing to be on France's stand-by list for the World Cup in Russia this summer.
The attacker made his decision known to French management by e-mail, and his decision to omit himself from the reserve list has not gone down well with the France management team.
Former France winger Franck Ribery has ridiculed Rabiot for his refusal of the call-up on his Twitter account, jokingly writing that he is ready to take Rabiot's place on the stand-by list:
I'm in Ibiza, I've just been called, is there a reserve seat? Didier, I'm ready!
Ooooh putinnnn je suis a Ibiza ☀️on vient de m’appeler ?il reste une place en réserviste ? ???
Oooo Didier io Sono pronto !!! Daiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ??♂️???♂️???♂️???♂️???♂️???♂️???♂️— Franck Ribéry (@FranckRibery) May 23, 2018
Ribery retired from international football in 2014 after making 80 appearances and scoring 16 goals for Les Bleus.
Meanwhile France coach Didier Deschamps has slammed Rabiot's refusal, and warned that he believed the 23-year-old would regret his decision:
I was obviously surprised. I can understand his immense disappointment but I’m convinced he made a huge mistake.
Hopefully it will help him grow up and think. When you play at the highest level, you can let your emotions take over. I’m surprised because he is a young player with only a few caps.
France have a wealth of talent to draw upon, and with the likes of Anthony Martial and Alexandre Lacazette only afforded a place on the standby list, Rabiot may find it a long time before he is considered for a call-up again.
France's World Cup squad:
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Alphonse Areola (Paris Saint-Germain).
Defenders: Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Benjamin Pavard (Stuttgart), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain), Adil Rami (Marseille), Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City), Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid).
Midfielders: Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich), Blaise Matuidi (Juventus), Ngolo Kante (Chelsea), Steven Nzonzi (Sevilla).
Forwards: Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Olivier Giroud (Chelsea), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona), Florian Thauvin (Marseille), Nabil Fekir (Lyon), Thomas Lemar (Monaco).
On standby: Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Benoit Costil (Bordeaux), Mathieu Debuchy (Saint-Etienne), Lucas Digne (Barcelona), Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal), Anthony Martial (Manchester United), Mamadou Sakho (Crystal Palace), Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham Hotspur), Kurt Zouma (Chelsea).
