Désiré Doué, France’s man for the big stage

The 21-year-old, playing his first World Cup, can split open defences and could make the difference in the World Cup

Court Philippe-Chatrier – the main show court of the French Open – is reserved for the biggest and most prestigious players in tennis. Once in a while though, it opens its gates for personalities from other fields to step onto the fabled red dirt.

French forward Désiré Doué at a training session before the FIFA World Cup. (AFP)

On June 1, four footballers from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) walked on to the court carrying the two Champions League trophies the team has won in the last two years. Amongst the quartet was Désiré Doué.

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Born to an Ivorian father and French mother in Angers, around 300km southwest of Paris, Doué is one of the many talented players to emerge from Stade Rennes FC’s famous youth academy – the graduates include Euro 2000 winner Sylvain Wiltord and Doué’s teammate, reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele.

He is a versatile player who tends to play more as an attacking midfielder, although he is known to be effective on the wings as well. He mixes pace with impeccable control, throwing in some tricks to display his flair as well.

It’s a skillset that piqued the interest of Bayern Munich, who were keen on luring him away from Rennes. In 2024, however, he decided instead to join PSG for a €50 million transfer – not bad for a player who had just turned 19.

In his first season at PSG, he helped the club win the Ligue 1 title, the Coupe de France, the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup. PSG also finished runners-up in the FIFA Club World Cup.

His performances throughout the season earned him the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award and the Globe Soccer Emerging Player of the Year Award.

From his family, however, he won’t be the only one competing at the World Cup. His older brother Guela is a key defender for Ivory Coast. In fact, 23-year-old Guela scored for the Ivorians as they upset France in a warm-up tie on June 5. Desire was in the opposition camp. However, Desire did not get any minutes in that game.

There is a lot of competition to get into the starting eleven in a star-studded France side. Doué, though, has proved his effectiveness and seems built for the big stage.

A few hours after the celebration at Stade Roland Garros on June 1, the festivities continued at PSG’s own Parc des Princes. There will be hope that in July there will be another celebration at the country’s largest stadium, the Stade de France.

Should that happen, Doué, dressed in the blue of France, will likely again take centre stage.