Thomas Heurtel is now 33 years old and has been playing basketball professionally since 2007. A good part of his career has been spent in Spain: Alicante (2010-11), Baskonia (2011-14), Barcelona (2017-21) and Real Madrid (2021-22), where his enormous talent as a point guard is well known… and his complicated character. He ended up very badly at Barça, where he left after a media farce and after a stint at Lyon he signed for Real Madrid, where his goodbye was premature and also controversial.
In summer, Heurtel played the Eurobasket in which France lost the final with Spain. As soon as he won the silver medal, he signed up for Zenit St. Petersburg, which is coached by Spaniard Xavi Pascual and is owned by the Russian gas giant, Gazprom. A decision that raised a storm in his native country, which did not want its internationals in Russian and Belarusian teams after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Heurtel, who was also suspected of having agreed to sign him when he played the Eurobasket officially without a team, was separated from the National Team, which will host the Olympic Games in Paris next year.
Now, Heurtel has spoken with L’Equipe of that disputed election, a contract in 1+1 format with Zenit just after signing the document demanded by the French Federation and which specified that it was “a matter of honor” that forced the members of the team to “not be committed and not consider signing with Russian or Belarusian teams later ”. That document also specified that the player who disobeyed it would not continue in France’s plans for the following international championships.at least while “the measures of exclusion from international competitions” were in force.
Huertel signed the letter, played in Eurobasket… and signed for Zenit three days after the final: “When I signed the letter with the French Federation, I had not signed for Zenit. I wasn’t 100% sure about my future, I was waiting for other proposals. But it was already one of my important options. I did not want to ignore what the Federation said, they are the ones who decided not to count on me, I did not make that decision.”
He does defend his decision to play in Russia openly: “It was the best for me and my family, financially and for the sports project. I knew that he was going to play a lot, the club and the coach told me that he would be one of the leaders of the team. I was going to have fun on the track again after a difficult year at Madrid, and that’s what I wanted”. So he assumes that staying at Zenit would mean not being in Paris 2024: “Eurobasket went well despite the defeat in the final. It would be a shame not to go back, but we’ll see what happens. If economically and sportingly the best thing for me is to stay in Russia, I will stay. First, I have to think about myself, about my family. In my children and my future.”
Heurtel also defends himself when in the interview he is told that a player of his level could have good offers in other destinations: “If there is nothing else, what do I do? There will be more things but not necessarily for the price that I ask. Here in Russia, salaries are different… and I am already in the final stretch of my career. What do I have left, four years or five? I think that in my situation everyone would have done the same as me, although of course it bothers me not to be with the National Team.
In addition, he also talks about what it means to play in a country immersed in a war: “But by that logic you couldn’t play in China, in Israel… everyone would have to apply the same, not just me. What does the war have to do with my situation? Where I play doesn’t mean I support what Russia is doing. I don’t know anyone here who does. So do the people who play in China approve of China’s human rights policy? Do those who play in France agree with everything the government does there? Well this is the same. Of course I don’t want people killed in this war. Those who call me selfish… let the French Federation give me the rest of the money, and I’ll leave this contract and play with a smaller one elsewhere. I am not accepting money from people who kill in war. That I charge here does not mean that I agree with what is being done. The people who say in the networks that they would not do what I have done … is hypocrisyThat’s what losers say. They have not put themselves in my place, they do not see themselves in the situation of earning what I earn. But it’s okay to go on TV to say that it’s not okay, and that children are dying in the war…”.
In the interview, he also admits that he “dreams” about being in the Games and warns that he continues to have a good relationship with coaches and players from the national team: “They are more positive than negative, many think like me and not like the people who insult me ”. And he does not deny that he was afraid when he had to move to St. Petersburg: “Yes, at first yes. But the club reassured me, explained the situation to me. AND I was told that at the slightest hint of disaster, players would be put on a plane to Istanbul or Dubai. And when I arrived I saw that life was going well here, without problems. I try to do my job to the best of my ability and that my wife and children have the best possible future and are happy every day. I had other offers, but worse paid. And this is about the safety of my family in the future. He earned two or three times more than what he would earn at another European club. If next year I have a good sports project and the same money elsewhere, I’m leaving. From there, people may not agree, but those who are dedicated to insulting me… it’s as if I took a gun and went to fight. No, I’m just doing my job.”