The end of the career of Hugo Lloris, 37, will be written on the other side of the Atlantic. The French goalkeeper from Tottenham terminated his contract with the London club and chose, Saturday December 30, to join Los Angeles FC, a Major League Soccer (MLS) club, the American football championship. This transfer was made official at 8 p.m. by the two clubs on social networks. In the process, Hugo Lloris sent a message of thanks to the English fans.
At Spurs, the former Nice and Lyon player had been kept away from the group since the summer, when he expressed the wish to discover ” something else “, after eleven seasons at Tottenham. He was no longer part of the plans of a London club, in full renewal this season, after the departure of its star striker Harry Kane and the arrival of Australian coach Ange Postecoglou. Tottenham notably recruited the Italian Guglielmo Vicario as starting goalkeeper in June. Lloris had also lost his stripes as captain of Tottenham, the armband having been entrusted to South Korean striker Son Heung-min.
The Frenchman was the face of Spurs for more than a decade. Hugo Lloris is the eighth most capped player in the history of the north London club, with 447 matches played. A tribute will be paid to the 2018 world champion in his presence, before the championship match played at home, Sunday at 3 p.m., against Bournemouth.
A taste of unfinished business
Lloris’ last club appearance was on April 23. Injured in a thigh, he was then replaced at half-time during his team’s heavy 6-1 defeat against Newcastle in the Premier League. This physical problem caused him to miss the entire end of the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Then, pushed out by Tottenham, the French goalkeeper spent the entire start of the season training with no prospect of playing again with the London club.
His departure from Tottenham most likely marks the epilogue of an eighteen-year European career. Trained at OGC Nice, where he played until 2008, the French goalkeeper then joined Olympique Lyonnais, where he showed himself at the highest level, before his departure to Tottenham in 2012. With Spurs , he played in the club’s only Champions League final, on 1er June 2019, in Madrid, against Liverpool (2-0 defeat). His eleven seasons in England, however, will leave a taste of unfinished business, since Lloris has not won a single trophy with Tottenham.
But his consistency and reliability have allowed him to build a prestigious track record with the French team. Holder of the record for the number of selections (145), he won the second world star of the Blues in 2018 and even came close to the third, in 2022, armband on his arm, only losing in the final on penalties against the Argentina by Lionel Messi. After this painful defeat, Lloris announced his international retirement in January 2023.
Seduced by the enthusiasm of Los Angeles leaders
In Los Angeles, the French goalkeeper is guaranteed to regain a starting place in a team where the main attractions are the Mexican striker Carlos Vela and the Gabonese winger Denis Bouanga, notably through Saint-Etienne. Los Angeles FC reached the MLS final on December 9, losing (1-2) to the Columbus Crew.
According to AFP, Lloris opted for the American franchise after discussing with former players and being seduced by the enthusiasm of Los Angeles managers, who were quicker to recruit him than other clubs which had been interested in him. case. The player’s children, raised in London, will also find, in California, an English-speaking environment that suits them, another parameter which may have contributed to strengthening Lloris’ choice.
His first match in MLS is scheduled for February 24, 2024, against Seattle, in front of his new supporters in Los Angeles.