Forgotten Tottenham man was once ‘one of the best in the world’ and now lives in exile
One of Tottenham’s forgotten players from years ago was regarded as one of the best in his position.
One day, Hugo Lloris was named one of the world’s best goalkeepers. Now living in exile in Tottenham, the 36-year-old Frenchman’s remarkable career may be coming to an unsatisfactory end.
For virtually the whole of his first 11 seasons with the team, Lloris was Tottenham’s top player. One of the most exciting young goalkeepers in European football, he joined from Lyon in 2012.
Mauricio Pochettino named him club captain just three years later. He led the team during one of the most thrilling moments in the club’s recent history while wearing the armband for eight seasons.
In the end, Spurs lost to Leicester for the Premier League championship in 2016, but they were very close. Fans will always remember the club’s first-ever Champions League final in 2019, even though they lost to Liverpool.
As the leader at the time, Lloris will go down in history as a modern-day club legend. He was already regarded as one of the greatest in the world by Pochettino in 2014.
“I believe he is among the best goalkeepers in the world, not just in the Premier League,” he remarked. He is truly amazing. [Wojciech] Szczesny, [Manuel] Neuer—I believe there are many excellent keepers. However, Lloris is among them.
Pochettino was not operating alone. In 2018, Kieran Tripper shared the same sentiments, telling talkSPORT that Hugo was “one of the best in the world” and that Lloris had helped France win the World Cup. You watch him year after year and see how much money and points he saves us.”
Five years later, Lloris’s stay in north London is drawing to a tragic close. When he announced in June that he intended to leave Spurs in the summer, he described it as “an end of an era.”
But it hasn’t happened yet, for whatever reason. He was obviously not drawn to any move, and on the day of the deadline, he declined an impromptu return to Nice because it was unclear exactly what his role would entail.
For that reason, Lloris is currently alone at Spurs. After joining from Empoli in the summer, Guglielmo Vicario has been a huge hit in the Premier League.
Yet Lloris is unable to even approach the bench. So far this season, Fraser Forster has maintained his position as Ange Postecoglou’s No. 2 pick.
For neutral supporters, Lloris is starting to fade into obscurity. Many would be shocked to hear that he still has a contract with Tottenham. However, the impact he had in over ten years between the sticks will live on in Spurs supporters’ memories.
