Currently plying his trade with Lorient in Ligue 1, delved into the intricate tapestry of his illustrious career, which has seen him don the jerseys of Chelsea, AC Milan, and Napoli. Amidst discussing his journey, the defensive midfielder expressed sentiments of regret regarding his brief stint in international football.
Bakayoko, who earned his solitary international cap during his Monaco tenure in a friendly match against Spain in 2017, confessed to feeling incomplete on the international stage.
“The French team? It’s mixed… I’m not completely international because I only have one selection. At Chelsea, I was disappointed not to return.
France is world champion, and there is a regret of not having been. I believed in it, but there are so many quality players in France. You wait, you work, and you accept,” he remarked.
This solitary selection also precluded Bakayoko from potentially representing his second homeland, Côte d’Ivoire, an opportunity that arose just before his French call-up.
He disclosed the inner turmoil of dual nationality, stating, “When I am called up, I am closer to Côte d’Ivoire, even if the Blues remain the ultimate dream.
When you have dual nationality, you don’t realize how difficult it is to choose. Between the moment Didier Deschamps called me and the moment I said yes, I didn’t eat for two days; I had a lump in my stomach.
In a way, if I were to play for Ivory Coast now, I would feel like I was disowning myself. But I have evolved a little; I don’t say no, I don’t say yes…”
