Jean Butez Receives Historic First Call-Up to France National Team
Jean Butez was still coming down from an away trip with Como when his phone lit up on landing. By the time he stepped off the plane, his life had changed.
At 31 years and three months, the Como goalkeeper has received a shock first call-up to the France national team, drafted in late to replace RC Lens keeper Robin Risser, who withdrew after medical consultations revealed physical issues.
It is not just a surprise. It is history.
Butez becomes the oldest player to earn a maiden France call-up since Gerard Farison back in 1976, a span of almost half a century. For a man who has quietly built his career far from the glare of Clairefontaine, the statistic underlines the scale of his rise.
From Lille to Mouscron to Royal Antwerp, Butez has taken the long road. The defining chapter came in Belgium, where he helped Royal Antwerp to a stunning domestic treble in 2023, stacking up 27 clean sheets and a reputation as one of the most reliable keepers in the league. That body of work has finally carried him to Les Bleus.
The moment itself was almost mundane, at least until the message arrived.
“We were coming back from an away game with Lucas in particular. The message on landing was nice," Butez said after reporting to CNF Clairefontaine, recalling the surreal few minutes when he realised he had been called into Zinedine Zidane’s squad. He had seen the stat about his age, and instead of shrinking from it, he smiled. “I saw that stat, it’s pretty cool that I’m the one who broke that record. But you’re never too old for your first selection. Obviously, I wasn’t expecting it."
There was no gloating in the circumstances, either. His first thought went to Risser, whose setback opened the door.
Butez expressed sympathy for the Lens keeper, stressing that he understood the cruel side of football even as he embraced his own unexpected chance at the highest level. “Now, I’m here to replace him and discover a bit of this world, this group," he said. "And I’m the happiest."
His initiation began on the training pitch. Under the eye of newly appointed goalkeeping coach Fabien Barthez, Butez completed his first session in the France setup, stepping into drills alongside some of Europe’s elite. The scene would have felt distant a few years ago; now it is his daily reality, at least for this international window.
What he brings is clear: experience, resilience, and a track record of consistency. At 31, he is not a prospect. He is a fully formed goalkeeper arriving with hundreds of senior games behind him and the calm of a player who has already been through title races and high-pressure finals.
France will need that depth. Zidane’s squad is walking straight into a brutal UEFA Nations League schedule: four matches in eleven days, against Turkey, Italy, and a double-header with Belgium. The margins for error are slim, the physical demands high. Rotations will not be a luxury; they will be a necessity.
In that context, Butez is more than a feel-good story. He is insurance, competition, and a fresh voice in a crowded goalkeeping department. Whether he steps onto the pitch or not, his presence stiffens the options as Les Bleus aim to launch their Nations League campaign with authority.
For now, the late bloomer from Como stands exactly where he long dreamed of being: on the training fields of Clairefontaine, gloves on, record broken, finally inside the world he spent a career trying to reach.
