Beckham's arrival will raise the profile of French football, says Deschamps

31-Jan-2013 8:35:00 PM

The national team boss feels the potential signing of the English midfielder by PSG could prove to be a boost for French football

France coach Didier Deschamps believes that the arrival of David Beckham at Paris Saint-Germain will further raise the profile of Ligue 1.

The former England captain is on the verge of signing a six-month deal with the capital club after leaving LA Galaxy in December, and the 44-year-old has little doubt that the move will benefit the game in the country.

"The arrival of Beckham would be a good thing for the media exposure Ligue 1 gets. It would raise the profile of French football," Deschamps said at a press conference.

"He's a great athlete because his image goes beyond football. Together with someone like [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, they can boost the profile of the French game.

"There's not much I can say about whether he can add anything on the pitch. He's a superstar and has six months to show what he can still do out there."

Meanwhile, Deschamps has announced his squad for the friendly clash with Germany at the Stade de France next week, with Real Madrid's Raphael Varane included following his showing in Wednesday's Clasico against Barcelona.

Name	Club
Goalkeepers:
Mickael Landreau	Bastia
Hugo Lloris	Tottenham
Steve Mandanda	Marseille
Defenders:
Gael Clichy	Manchester City
Mathieu Debuchy	Newcastle
Patrice Evra	Manchester United
Laurent Koscielny	Arsenal
Adil Rami	Valencia
Bacary Sagna	Arsenal
Mamadou Sakho	PSG
Raphael Varane	Real Madrid
Midfielders:
Yohan Cabaye	Newcastle
Etienne Capoue	Toulouse
Maxime Gonalons	Lille
Blaise Matuidi	PSG
Moussa Sissoko	Newcastle
Mathieu Valbuena	Marseille
Attackers:
Romain Alessandrini	Rennes
Karim Benzema	Real Madrid
Olivier Giroud	Arsenal
Bafetimbi Gomis	Lyon
Jeremy Menez	PSG
Franck Ribery	Bayern Munich