Kylian Mbappe opens up in 'L'Equipe' about his life plan, his disillusionment with the world of football, the dispute with PSG, and even addresses the allegations of sexual assault he received during a stay in Sweden.
We know the footballer Kylian Mbappe very well, but the person behind the persona also tries to emerge from time to time. The Frenchman has never hidden his political stance or his social concerns. And now, in an interview with 'L'Equipe', the Real Madrid and France international has revealed more about what goes through his head on a daily basis.
One of the most interesting reflections the Frenchman makes is on the intricacies of football – the part that is behind the goals and the matches: "I'm fatalistic about the world of football, but not about life. Life is magnificent. Football is what it is. I like to say that the people who go to the stadium are lucky to just come and see a spectacle and not know what goes on behind the scenes. Frankly, if I didn't have this passion, the world of football would have disgusted me a long time ago."
The Bondy native confesses that he has not wanted to start a family in order to "make the most" of his career, but hopes that when he has children, they will hate football: "Hopefully yes (laughs). Unfortunately, I think they will always have a ball nearby. In any case, I would never recommend my son to enter the world of football."
Personally, Mbappe believes he has a level of expectation that denies him the right to fail: "I can never be wrong. But that's also why you are held in high esteem. Because you accept all this, you are resilient and you always want to win. I have never wanted to accept failure, so it doesn't bother me if I'm criticised for it. I'm very demanding of myself, more demanding than most, so I take it very calmly."
Over the past two years, there have been two conflicts in Mbappe's life that have dominated headlines. One of them, his dispute with Paris Saint-Germain, whom he even accused of moral harassment and attempted extortion - although he withdrew it - while claiming a debt of 55 million: "It has given the impression that I wanted to harm PSG, but I only signed an employment contract and I wanted to be paid what's mine."
"I have nothing against PSG, I love this club, I have friends there. But it's the only way to get what I'm owed, something I've earned with the sweat of my brow. Whether you like it or not, it's still a job. I already knew I wasn't getting paid what I agreed when I was at PSG. When the money doesn't come in, you see it. I could have made a scene while I was there, but I told myself it wasn't worth it. But when you see that you're not being paid, after a while you have to react," continued the Frenchman.
Another story that tarnished the name of Kylian Mbappe was the complaint for an alleged sexual assault in Sweden in 2024, which was dismissed by the Justice of the Nordic country. The Frenchman lamented how the case was used in the media: "It was sad to see everyone taking advantage of such a serious issue. It happens to too many women, unfortunately, for us to jump on it for headlines and articles. No one took the time to ask what happened to the possible victim."
"When everyone saw that I wasn't in this story, what happened? Well, now she's in misery, no one knows where she is, we don't care. It's a delicate issue and it saddened me. I knew it wasn't going to go ahead because I wasn't involved. The police never called me, my name was never mentioned. I knew from the beginning that everything would be fine, but it's complicated," he added.
He also lamented that he was looked at differently when he tried to explain that nothing happened: "Whether you like it or not, when you tell it, you feel that in the other person's eyes they are thinking: 'What if there is a 1% chance that he did something?'. It hurt me. I had nothing to do with it... These are human reactions from the women around me, because there are too many who go through this. I just had to accept it, shut up and go to training. Sometimes you see comments, but you accept it. Carlo Ancelotti told me it was unfair and I said to him 'what more can I do than let it go and score goals?'.
Getting into some sporting matters, Mbappe was questioned about the France national team and its potential: "I think it's the most talented team, yes. The strongest, not yet. The one with the most potential, yes. It's infinite. In all positions we have players who are starters in the best clubs in the world, but as a team we are still not stronger than when we were world champions in 2018 or when we were finalists in 2022. Does this team have the potential to be the best? 100%. Will it be? It depends on us."
In addition, he spoke about the rumours that Zinedine Zidane may take over from Didier Deschamps after the 2026 World Cup: "With him you don't have to complicate things. He's Zidane, no one is going to say no to him. Only he can do something like that. If it's him, great! And if it's someone else, too. But he's the only one in the history of French football who has almost every right to do what he wants."