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Jean Butez: Unlikely Call-Up to France Squad at 31
Jean Butez was still on the plane when his life changed.
The Como goalkeeper, 31 years and three months old, landed from an away trip alongside team-mate Lucas Da Cunha and switched his phone back on. One message stood out. By the time he walked through the terminal, he had become the most unlikely new face in Zinedine Zidane’s France squad.
A maiden call-up at 31. And not just any call-up.
With RC Lens keeper Robin Risser forced to withdraw after medical consultations due to physical issues, France turned to experience. Butez, summoned late, instantly became the oldest player to receive a first selection for Les Bleus since Gerard Farison back in 1976.
For a man who has built his career far from the spotlight, the moment felt almost unreal.
“We were coming back from an away game with Lucas in particular. The message on landing was nice,” Butez said after arriving at CNF Clairefontaine. He had already seen the statistic doing the rounds. “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.”
From Mouscron to the national team
Butez’s route to Clairefontaine has been anything but straight. Formed at Lille, sharpened at Mouscron, and then elevated at Royal Antwerp, he has done his work far from the glamour of Ligue 1’s biggest stages.
In Belgium, he became a cornerstone. His finest season came in 2023, when he helped Royal Antwerp complete a historic domestic treble, racking up 27 clean sheets and cementing his reputation as one of the most reliable goalkeepers in the region.
That body of work eventually carried him to Como and, now, to France’s inner circle.
The call, though, came at someone else’s expense. Butez didn’t hide his feelings for Risser, whose physical problems opened the door.
He expressed sympathy for the Lens goalkeeper, aware that one man’s misfortune had created his own dream opening. “Now, I’m here to replace him and discover a bit of this world, this group,” Butez said. “And I’m the happiest.”
First steps under Barthez
If the call-up was unexpected, the welcome at Clairefontaine carried a certain logic. Waiting for him on the training pitch: Fabien Barthez, the newly appointed goalkeeping coach and a World Cup winner in the same colours Butez now hopes to wear in competitive action.
The Como keeper completed his first session under Barthez’s guidance, stepping into drills alongside some of Europe’s elite. For a player who has spent much of his career quietly accumulating minutes and clean sheets, it marked a striking shift in scenery.
He might be new to this level, but he is not short on miles. Butez arrives with years of senior football behind him, a different profile to the emerging Risser yet offering Zidane something just as valuable: calm, seasoned depth.
A brutal Nations League schedule
The timing of his arrival is no coincidence. France are staring at a punishing UEFA Nations League window: four matches in just eleven days, against Turkey, Italy, and a double-header with Belgium.
That sort of schedule tests every position, but especially the one in goal. Training intensity, recovery, rotation — all of it matters. Butez’s presence gives Zidane another trusted option to manage the load.
Les Bleus want to launch their Nations League campaign with authority. For the established stars, it is another tournament to chase. For Jean Butez, it is something else entirely: the chance, at 31, to prove that the door to the national team never truly closes.
