"I wanted to go with France, but I can't say why I wasn't called up"

Kylian Mbappe was not called up to the French national team for either the October or November international break. His first absence was interpreted as an opportunity to rest. The second raised much more controversy. His coach at 'Les Bleus', Didier Deschamps, had to answer countless questions about it in his press conferences and, thanks to the player himself, more details have come to light.

“In September, I asked the coach not to go. I had just arrived in Madrid. I had a very short vacation. The coach insisted that I go. After October, I got injured, I wasn't on the list, I was talking to them and the coach told me it was better not to call me up. He's the boss, I go after him. I wanted to go, but I can't say why they didn't call me,” he revealed in an extensive interview with the ‘Clique’ program on ‘Canal+’.

When asked about his friction with Messi's Argentina in the 2022 World Cup, he said: “He was very angry, but you have to respect him because he is Messi. We broke the ice by laughing, both of us, because we fought a battle. We created memories of the final. I think this final brought us closer together.” He also acknowledged that winning the game's most coveted trophy for the second time is a horizon that undoubtedly seduces him.

“At the moment, we have reached two finals, one lost. We have to re-establish order. It's a bit complicated, but we always knew how to do it, how to get back to the right place. If I manage to get two stars out of the three on the jersey... it wouldn't be bad,” he said. Speaking about the criticism he received from a certain sector of the press during Euro 2021, he was quite direct to those who launched these tirades at him.

“At Euro 2021, they lied from the first to the last day, they called me a monkey, they blamed me for some failures. It's the French national team, I have always given everything. You serve your country and that's it, it's writing for the sake of writing, talking to hurt you. To make you unhappy. I always put the French national team at the highest level. I did everything I could to represent it as well as possible. I broke my nose and people tell you that they don't care about you, that you focus more on Madrid than on France... but I don't give up,” he said.

 

December 8, 2024