Corentin Tolisso espère que son transfert du Bayern Munich à Lyon contribuera à assurer son retour en France avant la Coupe du monde.
Le retour du joueur de 27 ans à Lyon, avec qui il a commencé sa carrière de footballeur, a été confirmé vendredi après l’expiration de son contrat avec le Bayern Munich.
Tolisso a passé cinq campagnes remplies de coupes à l’Allianz Arena, mais n’a commencé que 12 matchs dans toutes les compétitions au cours de la saison 2021-22 touchée par les blessures.
Il n’a pas du tout joué pour la France la saison dernière, car son dernier des 28 matches a eu lieu lors du tournoi Euro 2020 reprogrammé l’année dernière.
Mais après avoir effectué un retour à Lyon pour un contrat de cinq ans, Tolisso vise une place dans l’équipe de Didier Deschamps à temps pour Qatar 2022.
« Je n’ai pas parlé à [Deschamps about the decision. It was a personal one, though I talked a lot about it with my agents and my family, » he said at a news conference.
« We said it was the best decision for me. The future will tell if I was right or wrong. Lyon is the right club for me to return to the French team and go to the World Cup.
« I am very proud and happy to be back in Lyon. The project seduced me. It’s a good thing for me and my personal goal, which is to play in the World Cup. »
Tolisso was a member of France’s World Cup-winning squad four years ago and also won five Bundesliga titles and the Champions League during his time in Bavaria.
Injuries, including a cruciate ligament rupture that ruled the midfielder out for the majority of the 2018-19 season, restricted him to 118 games in five years with Bayern.
However, the Lyon youth product feels he learned a lot with the German giants and does not believe his injury issues are any longer a concern.
« I learned on both a human and professional level, » he said. « I remember the trophies and how we won them. There are many things to remember.
« I remember a lot of positive things. Of course, there were not only positive things, but that’s also part of life, that’s how it is. The negative experiences helped me to grow.
« I have gained more maturity and experience; I have learned a lot at Bayern Munich in these five years. I grew and learnt a new system, a new culture, a new mentality.
« As for the injuries, I passed the medical, which is already a good point. It’s true that I had problems.
« I previously said that my worries were more psychological and mental than physical, for reasons I won’t necessarily reveal today.
« A lot of things have been going on in my head over the last year that have influenced the large number of injuries I’ve had. I did a lot of physical preparation.
« Now I am ready. I passed some [physical] Les essais d’hier. Ça s’est très bien passé donc tout le monde était sûr que j’étais en forme. Il n’y aura pas de problème. »