France national team coach and former Juventus midfielder Didier Deschamps has joked that he is envious of Adrien Rabiot and his recent opportunities with th eBianconeri armband.
Rabiot has temporarily taken on the role of Juventus captain on the pitch, following injuries to captain Danilo and vice-captain Alex Sandro.
Deschamps, who gave a press conference after announcing his France squad for November’s set of international fixtures, told reporters that he was ‘jealous’ of Rabiot, as he had never been given the opportunity to lead Juventus out as captain during his time in Turin in the 1990s.
“He’s been at an excellent level for several years,” Deschamps said. “I’m a little jealous because I never got to be the captain of Juventus, but it’s a great sign of trust from his coach and it’s been a massive source of pride for him.”
During his address to the media, Deschamps also spoke about a number of other French delegates in Serie A, including Inter striker Marcus Thuram.
Though the former Borussia Moenchengladbach-man has impressed with his early performances at San Siro, he has plenty of competition for game time in the France set-up.
Deschamps believes that Thuram is of similar profile to Milan’s Olivier Giroud, while other attackers in the squad, such as Kylian Mbappe, Randal Kolo Muani and Antoine Griezmann offer a different set of characteristics.