At Clairefontaine, where France are due to gather on Monday, the national team’s logistical operation will begin without Mohamed Sanhadji. The former police officer, brought into Zinedine Zidane’s staff to oversee security and logistics, has been placed under formal investigation in the case surrounding a €60,300 payment from Kylian Mbappé.
The development is the first significant disruption to Zidane’s France tenure. Sanhadji had been retained by the French Football Federation to travel with the squad towards the 2026 World Cup, having long been a familiar figure around Les Bleus and well regarded by players and federation officials.
The payment case and its timeline
- Sanhadji was responsible for the security of the French national side from 2004 until December 2025, while serving as a police officer.
- Following France’s 2022 World Cup campaign in Qatar, Mbappé gave him a cheque for €60,300 in June 2023. The sum corresponded to Mbappé’s World Cup bonus and was described as a customary gift.
- The payment was not declared to Sanhadji’s superiors. A banker subsequently reported the transaction to Tracfin, the French finance ministry’s financial intelligence service, in July 2024.
- The report led to an investigation concerning undeclared employment and money laundering linked to alleged tax fraud.
- A formal judicial investigation was opened in January 2026.
- On Wednesday, Sanhadji was formally charged on several counts, including corruption involving a person exercising public authority. The case also resulted in his early retirement from the national police.
Restrictions remove Sanhadji from France camp
As part of the judicial supervision imposed upon him, Sanhadji cannot communicate with current or former France players, members of the present coaching staff, current or former national-team managers, or current and former French Football Federation presidents and employees.
The restrictions also extend to directors and deputy directors of the Central Directorate of Republican Security Companies from 2011 onward.
That makes his continued day-to-day involvement with the national side impossible for now. Although he was appointed as head of logistics and security within Zidane’s set-up after leaving the police, he will not be at the training base when France start their next camp at Clairefontaine.
