Benoît Cheyrou champions positivity as Ligue 1+’s trusted voice | OneFootball

Benoît Cheyrou has emerged as Ligue 1+’s trusted voice, preferring clear, constructive analysis over cheap shots. According to L'Équipe, he will also be on M6’s World Cup coverage from 11 June to 19 July. This weekend he is on the mic for Lens v Toulouse on Friday and PSG v Lyon on Sunday.

He says the job is to highlight the pass, control or run rather than dwell on glaring mistakes, and that it is harder to be positive than negative. Commentator partner Xavier Domergue considers that outlook a strength as audiences tire of harsh takedowns.

Cheyrou stumbled into broadcasting in 2018 after a guest slot at RMC Sport, accepting a first low key Premier League game in a booth, then European ties, and he has not stopped since. He has stayed attached to Ligue 1 since 2020 through Téléfoot, Prime Video and DAZN before landing last summer on the league’s own channel. Domergue calls him calm and clearly in love with the game.

Passionate about tactics, he tries to keep jargon accessible, noting that only a small share of viewers are purists and the balance matters. He stretches out in Face au jeu, the league’s digital segment, which has even surprised childhood friend Smaïl Bouabdellah, who once nicknamed him Iceman as he loosens up on air.

He rates Thierry Henry as the standout pundit and accepts he is more reserved, learning to amplify emotion without betraying himself. In heated Ligue 1 fixtures he says he must mask his Marseille leanings, reacting the same to goals from Ousmane Dembélé or Mason Greenwood, while France games should let his supporter side show.

With audiences that could reach 10 to 20 million, he expects scrutiny and says academy life since age 16 hardened him to criticism. His aim is simply to be as good as possible, accepting that some will never be satisfied, and hoping to make as many viewers happy as he can.

Source: L'Équipe