Doping, blackmail, and Pamela Anderson: The Great Curse of France’s 2018 World Cup-Winning Team

Eight years after winning the World Cup, the 2018 Équipe Tricolore is a mix of triumph, scandals, and surprising career paths. A look at the fates of the superstars of that era.

Hardly any World Cup champion embodies the fall from grace after triumph as much as Paul Pogba. In 2018, he was the face of the French national team and embodied everything the team stood for: talent, charisma, and self-confidence. In the final against Croatia, he scored the goal that made it 3-1. At 25, the world of soccer seemed to belong to him.

But then began a downward spiral of injuries, athletic decline, and personal problems. After returning to Juventus, he constantly battled physical ailments. Then a blackmail scandal rocked his inner circle: his brother Mathias and others allegedly attempted to extort several million euros from him. Pogba later spoke of betrayal and one of the most difficult phases of his life.

The next blow came in 2023: After a Serie A match, he tested positive for DHEA. The original four-year suspension was later reduced to 18 months. Pogba consistently maintained that he had no intention of enhancing his performance. After his contract with Juventus was terminated, he attempted a fresh start at Monaco in 2025. Last season, however, the now 33-year-old barely played a role there. He was on the field for a mere 115 minutes.

Benjamin Mendy’s story took an even more dramatic turn. The left-back was charged in 2021 with several alleged sexual offenses and stood trial for months. Although he was later acquitted, his career never fully recovered. Even after his return to professional soccer, he remained primarily a figure associated with headlines off the field.

Although he was cleared of all charges, his reputation was permanently damaged. The big clubs wanted nothing more to do with him. After stints at Lorient and FC Zurich, he fought in vain to return to top-flight football. Even in Zurich, his spell ended after a short time.

Last season, Mendy played for the Polish first-division club Pogon Szczecin; his contract expires at the end of June. It remains unclear whether and how the 31-year-old’s career will proceed. The market value of the left-back, who once moved from Monaco to Manchester City as the most expensive defender of all time (57.50 million euros), has shrunk to 400,000 euros.

Adil Rami traveled to the 2018 World Cup as the fourth center-back and did not play a single minute during the tournament. Nevertheless, he became a world champion. Later, he joked that his biggest contribution had been the good atmosphere within the team.

After his playing career, he made headlines mainly off the soccer field. His former partner, Pamela Anderson, made serious allegations against him and publicly described him as violent and manipulative. Rami denied the accusations.

He subsequently appeared on reality TV shows, even winning the French show “Les Traîtres,” and became a media figure often associated more with entertainment than with soccer. In 2019, his contract with Olympique Marseille was terminated for “gross misconduct” after he called in sick to training but instead participated in a film shoot, even performing stunts.

Rami also made headlines with his critical remarks about Lamine Yamal: “He’s already throwing parties. Wait until you’re older, you f******! He’s always walking around with jewelry and diamonds—he thinks he’s American. It really pisses me off.”

No player embodies the price of the World Cup title quite like Samuel Umtiti. Before the 2018 World Cup, FC Barcelona’s doctors diagnosed a serious knee problem. Surgery would have jeopardized his World Cup participation. Umtiti decided against it and played anyway. He became a key figure, scored the decisive goal in the semifinal against Belgium, and was a crucial piece of the puzzle in winning the title.

The triumph, however, had consequences. His injured knee never fully healed. Within a few years, Barcelona’s defensive leader became a chronic patient. Injuries plagued him until the end of his career. In 2025, he retired at just 31 years old. Particularly striking are his later statements about the psychological consequences. He spoke of loneliness, depression, and how at times he could barely leave the house. The man who headed France into the World Cup final felt forgotten afterward.

Nabil Fekir, too, was never able to fully live up to the promise of his early years. The technically brilliant attacking player was once considered a future world star, but cruciate ligament injuries and physical setbacks prevented his definitive breakthrough. A transfer to Liverpool FC fell through at the last minute in 2018 after the World Cup.

Even though Fekir denied reports that his knee problems had prevented the move, he remained a player remembered primarily for his potential. Instead of Liverpool, he went to Betis Sevilla, but there he was never able to fully realize his potential. Since 2024, the now 32-year-old has been playing for Al-Jazira in Dubai.

Presnel Kimpembe had a similar experience. The PSG defender was one of France’s best center backs for years before severe Achilles tendon problems sidelined him for nearly two years. While many of his teammates were racking up titles, Kimpembe was primarily fighting just to get back on the field. In 2025, Kimpembe moved to Qatar, where he is often just a substitute.

When Atlético Madrid paid around 70 million euros for Thomas Lemar in 2018, it seemed France had produced yet another world-class star. The technically brilliant attacking midfielder was considered one of Europe’s greatest talents.

But in Madrid, he was never able to consistently live up to the high expectations. Although he won the league title under Diego Simeone and was at times a key part of the team, injuries and a lack of consistency prevented his definitive breakthrough.

In particular, a torn Achilles tendon in 2023 set him back significantly. After that, he never truly regained his former form. He ultimately spent the 2024–25 season on loan at Girona. There, he was unable to prevent the club’s sporting decline: Girona was relegated last season.

In 2018, Steve Mandanda was the number two behind Hugo Lloris and one of the most important leaders in the locker room. For many teammates, he was a sort of father figure.

After his retirement in 2025, he spoke unusually candidly about the emptiness that followed. For years, his daily life had revolved around soccer. Suddenly, the team gatherings, the rituals, and that special sense of community were gone. “My days are endless and empty. Empty of energy. Empty of meaning. Is this really death?” he wrote in his book *Les jours d’après*.

Mandanda later described how he had to reorient himself and initially struggled to find his place. He had to learn to cope with the loss of an important chapter in his life.

Statistically speaking, Mbappé is among the most successful players of his generation. At 19, he became a world champion, scored a goal in the final against Croatia, and nearly single-handedly led France to a second World Cup title four years later. In the final against Argentina, he scored a historic hat trick. And yet, a sense of incompleteness now hangs over his career.

For years, he stayed with Paris Saint-Germain to lead the club to the long-awaited Champions League title. Despite massive investments and a star-studded lineup featuring Neymar and Messi, PSG failed time and again. When Mbappé left the club for Real Madrid in 2024, he seemed to have chosen the direct path to the biggest titles.

The irony: it was precisely after his departure that PSG won the Champions League for the first time. A year later, another triumph followed. While the Parisians made history without their longtime superstar, Mbappé continues to wait for the trophy that would finally crown his career.

Individually, too, the highest honor has eluded him so far. Despite a World Cup title, a World Cup hat trick, and impressive goal-scoring rates, he has never won the Ballon d’Or. And quite a few in Madrid are already hoping for another quick departure of the superstar.

Not all of the 2018 World Cup champions experienced a decline after their triumph. Some didn’t reach the peak of their careers until years later. Foremost among them is Ousmane Dembélé. When France won the title in Russia, he was considered an exceptional talent, but his career was repeatedly hampered by injuries and a lack of consistency.

Many considered Dembélé a perennial prospect. Yet, in his late 20s of all times, he managed a spectacular resurgence. As the leader of Paris Saint-Germain, he guided the club to Champions League titles in 2025 and 2026 and, in 2025, became the first World Cup champion from the 2018 squad to win the Ballon d’Or. The former problem child became the best soccer player in the world.

Antoine Griezmann also cemented his status as a national hero. After the World Cup title, he led France to another World Cup final in 2022 and developed into the team’s strategic mastermind. While other World Cup champions faded from the scene early on, Griezmann remained a key figure for the Équipe Tricolore for years.

Olivier Giroud should not be forgotten either. The striker became a World Champion in 2018 without scoring a single goal in the entire tournament—a curious feat. Nevertheless, he went on to make French soccer history, surpassing Thierry Henry as the national team’s all-time leading scorer. In doing so, he achieved something that many critics had never believed him capable of throughout his entire career.

And even N’Golo Kanté managed a remarkable resurgence. After injuries and his move to Saudi Arabia, many believed his time at the highest level was over. Yet at the 2024 European Championship, he was surprisingly among France’s strongest players and once again proved his exceptional class. And Kanté will be there for the 2026 World Cup as well.

France is once again considered the top favorite to win the World Cup this year. The Équipe Tricolore has the most talented squad. The question is whether the players’ personalities mesh and whether they can form a cohesive unit on the field. Not like at the 2010 World Cup, but that’s another story…

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