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Six conclusions from Kylian Mbappe’s interview on French TV


Kylian Mbappe has criticized his start to life at Real Madrid, talked about his relationship with Lionel Messi after the 2022 World Cup final and said he hopes former club Paris Saint-Germain can win the Champions League.

In extensive French TV coverage, Mbappe, who agreed a £128m fee to join Madrid in the summer after seven years at PSG, said he watches every game involving his former team and expressed his desire to return to international action action, after being named captain of France, but missed the last two camps.

PSG’s 25-year-old all-time top goalscorer also discussed what he told club owner and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani when news broke in February that he would be leaving the reigning French champions.

Here are six things we learned from Mbappe’s revealing interview.

The World Cup final ‘brought Mbappe and Messi closer’

In one of the greatest games of all time, Argentina led France 2-0 with 10 minutes to go in the last World Cup final before Mbappe scored twice in less than two minutes of extra time.

Messi, who was the first scorer, scored again in the 108th minute, only for Mbappe to send the game to penalties with his hat-trick two minutes from time.

The pair scored the first penalties in the shootout as Argentina went on to win 4-2 and give Messi bragging rights when they reunited in PSG training ahead of the start of the 2022/23 season.

“I was mad as hell, but you respect it because it’s Messi,” Mbappe said, speaking to Canal+, via RMC. “We broke the ice laughing together because we were fighting. We remembered the final. I think this final brought us closer.”

Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021 after a shock exit from Barcelona as a boy. Together, Messi and Mbappe were directly involved in 34 goals in the 67 games they played together, winning Ligue 1 twice.

Mbappe’s ‘love’ for France ‘hasn’t changed’

Mbappe admitted he was “tired” at Euro 2024, where he missed France’s 0-0 draw with the Netherlands in their second leg after breaking his nose during their 1-0 opener win against Austria.

France were knocked out by eventual champions Spain in the semi-finals and Mbappe’s only goal came in a 1-1 draw against Poland in the group stage. Since then he has played twice and did not feature in their Nations League squads in October and November.

“My love for the French team has not changed. ” said Mbappe, who needs 10 more goals to become Les Bleus’ all-time top scorer. “Yes, I miss it, because it’s been a long time since I was there.

“In September, I asked the coach (Didier Deschamps) not to leave. I just arrived in Madrid. I had a super short vacation. The coach insisted that I come; it didn’t go very well. But it’s still a French team.”

Mbappe said he was “lied to” and blamed for “certain failures” at Euro 2020, where Spain lost to Switzerland in the round of 16.

“I always put the French team at the top,” he added. “I did everything to represent them the best I could. (I broke) my nose. And people tell you they don’t care about the French team.”

‘Not the best start’ at Real Madrid

Madrid initially tried to sign Mbappe before he left Monaco in 2017, initially joining PSG on a season-long loan in a £145million deal that made him the second most expensive player in history.

PSG rejected a second bid of £137m for Mbappe from Madrid in August 2021, but after his contract expired, the reigning Spanish champions finally hit their target, giving him a contract in June until 2029.

Mbappe provided 44 goals and 10 assists for PSG last season but was less successful in his first 21 games for Madrid, scoring 11 goals and scoring twice. He is currently four games without a goal in the Champions League.

“It’s not the best start to the season, but we’re preparing for trophies that will count,” Mbappe said. “It’s not what we expected, but at Real we are waiting for the second half of the season. Then you will be judged.

“I always dreamed of Real Madrid. I didn’t know when or how, but I knew I would play here.

“The day before (my) presentation there was a three-hour briefing – I had to translate for my mother and father. It was tiring. The next day you have your first human contact with the boys, I met the coach (Carlo Ancelotti). After that. let’s go to the Bernabeu… the crowd welcomes you like a king.”

PSG fans ‘deserve’ glory in the Champions League

Mbappe said reports that the PSG owner wanted to talk him out of coming to Madrid were incorrect. “I’m in the car and the news came out that the Qatari emir will make an irresistible offer to stay at PSG,” he explained.

“He told me: ‘Look, they think I’m going to make you an offer, but you decided to leave and I respect your decision. You want to fulfill your dream of going to Real Madrid – thank you for everything.’ That touched me. I told him: ‘I will do my best until the end of the season’.”

Six-time champion of France and finalist of the Champions League 2020/21. with Paris, Mbappe called the club “a super = intense place, for better or for worse” and considers his time there “extraordinary”.

“Maybe I made a mistake by mixing everything up,” he thought. “I had conflicts with people, I defended my rights as a player, but that did not represent (my attitude towards) the club.

I never mixed everything up with the players, the people on campus, the staff. I could have been more expressive with the fans. They say ‘Kyliana doesn’t care’. They think it was their hobby before going to Madrid.

“I still watch PSG matches. I know the club by heart. When they lose, I know how hard it is. I always maintained that connection with PSG. It is a bond that cannot be broken like that.

“I hope that one day they will win (the Champions League) because the fans, the people who suffer there every day, deserve a bit of happiness anyway. But not now, because I have to win a little. I am in the best club in the world. There is nothing up there.”

‘Misunderstanding’ over reports in Sweden

After media reports linked his name to a rape investigation in Sweden in October, Mbappe took to social media to label the coverage as “fake news”.

Mbappe’s lawyers called the reports defamatory. Deschamps also said his exclusion from the France squad next month was unrelated to the reports.

I was surprised, said Mbappe. “I’m always surprised: these are the things that happen, and you don’t expect them. I got nothing, no call. I read the same as everyone else. The Swedish government did not say anything. I’m not worried… it’s just a misunderstanding. I didn’t mind because I never felt worried.

“There’s a lot of noise, but I’ve always had the same intention, which is to focus on my work and see how it ends. When I’m on the plane, I have information. I have no idea who (the plaintiff) is. If the justice system calls me, I’ll just walk away.”

Mbappe was in Sweden after Madrid gave him time to rest. “It wasn’t even a night out,” he said. “I had five days off, I decided to leave.

“I should have gone somewhere else, but the coach told me to go somewhere less exposed. It was going well and I was relaxed. Before I leave, here’s a photo of me leaving (one) restaurant. There were a lot of people who readily met me on departure, a lot of journalists.”

The media ‘must talk’ about Mbappe

Mbappe spoke about the pressure of being in the media spotlight. “If you’re a star, people talk about you if you don’t talk,” he said.

“That’s why I’m speaking today. Every day there is something, although I have not given any interviews. I don’t talk. I think it comes from the fact that we have to talk about Kylian at all costs.

“I wrote my story in Paris. I think I did many things well, others not. I made people dream, I broke records, won titles, gave emotions.

“You discover a new context, a new club (Madrid), climate, environment. You open all your senses. It’s more about observation. I will succeed here.

“Young people should not dream of being me, because the goal of a dream is to have no limits. I didn’t dream of anyone – I dreamed of being big.”





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