French national team security officer Mohamed Sanhadji is facing a formal investigation over about 20 alleged criminal offences, including bribery, influence peddling, fraud and money laundering, according to reports in French newspaper L’Equipe.
Sanhadji, who is of Algerian origin, has worked with the France national team for 22 years and became a familiar figure around the squad. He was regarded as a trusted confidant by players and was known for helping them deal with matters away from football.
He has now been placed under judicial restrictions after being ordered to pay €80,000 bail. The restrictions include a ban on contacting current or former France players, taking part in sporting activities and entering major stadiums or training centres without prior judicial approval.
The investigation has also brought Kylian Mbappe into focus. Prosecutors found that the France captain transferred about €200,000 to Sanhadji after the 2022 World Cup, described as loans and bonuses in recognition of his work with the national team.
Authorities are examining whether those payments could instead have been linked to undisclosed security services allegedly provided by Sanhadji to Mbappe and whether the money was properly declared for tax purposes.
The investigation has widened beyond Mbappe, with L’Equipe reporting that Sanhadji had provided security-related services to about 15 current and former France players and coaches.
Among the names mentioned are former France manager Laurent Blanc, former defender Raphael Varane and midfielder Matteo Guendouzi.
A message Sanhadji sent to Guendouzi in 2024 has also been cited as part of the investigation. In the message, he said that “if this matter were to become public, it would be completely over.”
Other prominent figures with links to North Africa have also appeared in the investigation.
French actor Jamel Debbouze, who is of Moroccan origin, has been mentioned in connection with Sanhadji’s stay in Morocco. According to the investigation, Debbouze hosted Sanhadji there after the security official helped the actor’s son obtain an opportunity to train at the Clairefontaine national football centre.
Sabri Lamouchi, the French coach and former international of Tunisian origin, is also named in the investigation. Records indicate that Lamouchi transferred €20,000 to Sanhadji as part of more than €300,000 that the security official allegedly received from around 15 current and former France internationals between 2020 and 2024.
Sanhadji’s relationship with players extended well beyond his official role with the national team. According to a report by RMC, he helped several prominent figures in French football deal with problems away from the pitch.
His reported involvement included assisting in the Valbuena sex-tape blackmail case and supporting Antoine Griezmann in another matter. He also accompanied former France captain Zinedine Zidane during a trip to Algeria in 2006.
Sanhadji was born in Cadenier in 1968 into a family of 12 children. He joined the Republican Security Forces, known as the CRS, at the age of 20 and became a police officer three years later.
He began working as the France team’s security officer in 2004. Over the following two decades, his role developed alongside his relationships with players and other figures around the national team.
In 2021, Sanhadji was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour. Before the 2022 World Cup, he appeared alongside the France squad in a team photograph with President Emmanuel Macron, standing in the front row.
His position with the national team changed in late 2025 when he was forced into retirement. Months later, he became the subject of the judicial investigation, with his activities subsequently suspended as the authorities continued examining the allegations.
The case has placed renewed scrutiny on Sanhadji’s long-standing relationships with members of the France squad and other figures, while the investigation continues into the financial transactions and services at the centre of the allegations.
