French stars Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele are Football Manager enthusiasts, who managed Arsenal, Newcastle and Winchester FC while signing Kylian Mbappe, Joao Felix, Bruno Fernandes and Frenkie de Jong

Some footballers relax on international duty by relaxing with their teammates, going to the gym or gorging on boxes.

But not French pair Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele, who love playing Football Manager.

And it didn’t impact their game as they combined their video game management duties with winning the World Cup in 2018.

As they prepared for their critical clashes in Russia, Dembele focused on his fictional side Winchester FC.

Putting his club in the eighth tier of English football, the Barcelona winger has expressed his desire to make the Hampshire side top-flight contenders.

Seen playing the game on flights across Russia, Dembele said: “I am going to start a club in Winchester, Winchester FC. I will take us to the Premier League.

“It’s my new project, there will be a South American atmosphere in the stadium.”

Although there were already rumors of financial irregularities at the start of his tenure, Griezmann was quick to point out that his compatriot is notorious for his financial scandals.

He joked: “He does things, he gives himself money, he had £40million in the Third Division…”

As for Griezmann, he prefers overseeing already well-established clubs instead, where he already established a star-studded team at Arsenal in 2019.

He was quick to drop a number of top players, with Alexandre Lacazette being the only surviving member of the 2018/19 squad to retain his place in the team.

Bruno Fernandes, Frenkie De Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Joao Felix have been included in the starting XI, along with… Bournemouth’s Chris Mepham.

😏😁 Soon to coach the Grizi 💯💯 @Soccer manager @Arsenal #Ajax pic.twitter.com/UO8EZgfVgR

— Antoine Griezmann (@AntoGriezmann) April 15, 2019

England keeper Jordan Pickford was also trusted, with Griezmann hoping to shoot past the Everton man in Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final.

He then posted an update on his squad shortly afterwards and revealed he had taken Arsenal to Premier League and Champions League glory in 2021.

Bringing more changes to his squad, United pair Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane were in his line-up but unfortunately for Lacazette he was shipped off to Huddersfield for £25m.

Fast forward to Euro 2020 and Griezmann had ditched Arsenal for his four main rivals Newcastle, who at the time were still under the ownership of Mike Ashley.

And much to Kylian Mbappe’s disappointment, Griezmann brought the Paris Saint-Germain striker to St James’ Park.

As in his time with the Gunners, Griezmann had brought huge success to the Magpies after winning five major honors – before their billionaire backing.

But Mbappe was not happy with his new destination, as he remarked: “Newcastle, where? It’s not very hot there, is it?

Following their takeover last year, Griezmann was quick to joke that the transfer could go ahead after taking to social media to photoshop and Mbappe showing off a Newcastle shirt.

It remains to be seen who Griezmann and Dembele lead in Qatar as France seek to defend their trophy.

But if the Three Lions eliminate the Blues this weekend, you can be sure the pair will choose a new country to take charge.