. “I woke up this morning and had breakfast with my kids,” he says with a grin as he chats away happily at home. “I then took them to school and obviously the weather is amazing. Just before our interview I went for a walk and I was still in shorts and a T-shirt … in November.”
Lloris laughs in mild disbelief. We speak on Monday, the day before America goes to the polls, and the 37-year-old goalkeeper says: “Tomorrow is the big day and what’s really surprising when I am walking around the neighbourhood is seeing that people are not afraid to show who they’re voting for. You see the signs outside their houses. We are more private in Europe.”
The sunshine and hope in California has dimmed after the election. Donald Trump won only 40.1% of the vote in California compared to Kamala Harris’ 57.3%, but most of America gave him a resounding national victory. Lloris offers a very Gallic shrug when we discuss the returning president’s bizarre and enduring popularity: “I know, but America is a huge country. I feel it when we play away. There are so many different mentalities, different expectations.”
Life goes on, and Lloris can now enjoy the fact that his new club, Los Angeles FC, topped the Western Conference at the end of the regular MLS season. Inter Miami were the Eastern Conference champions with an ageing, star-studded squad led by Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Sergio Busquets. For Lloris this sparks memories of the 2022 World Cup final as he and Messi captained France and Argentina respectively in one of football’s most thrilling games.
Argentina won on penalties after a tumultuous 3-3 draw and, in his new book, Lloris details his …
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