Paris - (AFP) - The President of the French Football Federation, Noel Le Graet , acknowledged, in a statement to Agence France-Presse, Monday, "inappropriate statements that created a misunderstanding" related to the legend of the national team, Zinedine Zidane , and offered him a "personal apology."

"These inappropriate statements generated a misunderstanding," Le Graet said the day after his speech about Zidane.

On Sunday, in response to a question in an interview with Radio Monte Carlo regarding whether Zidane, who was considered by many to be the first choice to coach the national team in the event that Didier Deschamps did not renew, had contacted him in recent days, Le Graet said, “Zinedine Zidane, I was not So to answer the call, to tell him what? + Hey mister, don't worry, find another club, I've reached an agreement with Deschamps +?"

This led to harsh criticism from Kylian Mbappe and the Minister of Sports, the latest of which was from Real Madrid , which Zidane led as a coach to the Champions League title three times in a row between 2016 and 2018.

"Real Madrid C. F. deplores the unfortunate comments made by Le Graet regarding Zinedine Zidane, one of the biggest legends of sport in the world," the club said in a statement on Monday.

"These statements show disrespect for one of the most respected personalities by football fans around the world and our club is waiting for immediate correction. Zinedine Zidane, the world and European champion, and many other titles, embodies the values of sport and has proven this throughout his professional career as a player and as a coach."

And he added, "The statements of the president of the federation are not appropriate for a person who has such representation and are in themselves inappropriate, like those he also made about our leader, Karim Benzema."

Deschamps' contract expired after the World Cup in Qatar, where defending champions France lost to Argentina on penalties after a thrilling final on December 18.

After questions about the future, Deschamps signed on Saturday a new contract until the 2026 World Cup.

"I gave an interview to Radio Monte Carlo that I was not supposed to do because it was looking for controversy by putting Didier in the face of Zinedine Zidane, two giants in French football. I admit that I made inappropriate remarks that led to A misunderstanding. Zinedine Zidane knows the great respect I have for him, like all Frenchmen."

Mbappe, the 2018 World Cup champion in Russia and runner-up in the 2022 final, in which he scored a hat-trick, tweeted on his Twitter account on Sunday, "Zidane is France. We do not underestimate the respect for the legend in this way."

For her part, Sports Minister Amelie Odia-Castierra demanded an apology from Zidane and tweeted: "Remarks detached from reality again and this time with shameful disrespect, which hurts us all, for the legend of football and sport: the president of the first sports federation in France should not say that." Please apologize to Zidane, please."

Le Graet, 81, also responded tersely on Sunday to rumors of Zidane's interest in coaching Brazil. Where he wants, in a club, there are many in Europe, a big club, national team? I care about what concerns me."