Kylian Mbappe criticized the beginning of his life at Real Madrid, spoke about his relationship with Lionel Messi after the 2022 World Cup final, and said that he hopes that his former club, Paris Saint-Germain, can win the Champions League.
In a wide-ranging French television broadcast, Mbappe, who agreed a £128m registration fee to join Madrid in the summer after seven years at Paris Saint-Germain, said he watches every match involving his former club and expressed his desire to return to Paris Saint-Germain. . International work, after he was appointed captain of France but missed his last two camps.
The 25-year-old Paris Saint-Germain top scorer also discussed what he told club owner and Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani when news first broke in February that he was leaving the current French champions.
Here are six things we learned from Mbappe's revealing interview.
First title with the best club in the world!!!! Let's go for more!!!!
¡Hala Madrid! 🤍🤍🤍 @real madrid pic.twitter.com/ruksazaB8U– Kylian Mbappe (@KMbappe) August 14, 2024
The World Cup final brought Mbappe and Messi closer
In one of the greatest matches ever, Argentina led France 2-0 with 10 minutes left in the World Cup final before Mbappe scored twice in less than two minutes to force extra time.
Messi, who scored the opening goal, struck again in the 108th minute, but Mbappe sent the game to penalties by completing his hat-trick two minutes from time.
The pair scored the first of the shootout, as Argentina won 4-2 and gave Messi bragging rights when they reunited in Paris Saint-Germain training ahead of the start of the 2022/23 season.
“I was very angry, but you respect that because he is Messi,” Mbappe said in statements to Canal+. RMC. “We broke the ice by laughing together because we fought. We made memories of the final. I think this final brought us closer together.”
Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi joined Paris in August 2021 following his shock exit from his boyhood club Barcelona. Messi and Mbappe were directly involved in 34 goals in the 67 matches they played together, winning the French League twice.
An unforgettable evening. 🙏🏽🇫🇷 @equipedefrance pic.twitter.com/7AYLWcaCxL
– Kylian Mbappe (@KMbappe) November 18, 2023
Mbappe's love for France has not changed
Mbappe admitted he was “tired” at Euro 2024, missing France's 0-0 draw with the Netherlands in the second match after breaking his nose during their opening 1-0 win over Austria.
France was eliminated from the semi-finals by Spain, which eventually won the title, and Mbappe's only goal came in the match that ended in a 1-1 draw with Poland in the group stage. He has played twice since then and was not included in the UEFA Nations League squads in October and November.
“My love for the French team has not changed. “Yes, I miss him, because it has been a long time since I was there,” said Mbappe, who needs 10 more goals to become the French national team’s all-time top scorer.
He added: “In September, I asked the coach (Didier Deschamps) not to leave. I have just arrived in Madrid. I've had a very short vacation. The coach insisted on my attendance; Things didn't go well. But it is still the French team.”
Mbappe said he was “lied” to and blamed for “some failures” in the 2020 European Championship, in which Spain lost to Switzerland in the round of 16.
He added: “I always put the French team at the top. “I did everything to represent them as best as I could. I (broke) my nose. People tell you they don’t care about the French team.”
First day. Hala Madrid! 🤍🤍🤍 @real madrid pic.twitter.com/bJ8XHT2GNp
– Kylian Mbappe (@KMbappe) August 7, 2024
“Not the best start” at Real Madrid
Madrid initially tried to sign Mbappe before he left Monaco in 2017, and he initially joined Paris Saint-Germain on a season-long loan as part of a £145m deal that made him the second most expensive player in history.
Paris Saint-Germain rejected a second £137m bid for Mbappe from Madrid in August 2021, but after his contract expired, the Spanish champions finally got their target, awarding him a deal in June until 2029.
Mbappe contributed 44 goals and 10 assists for Paris Saint-Germain last season, but was less prolific in his first 21 matches for Real Madrid, scoring 11 goals and making two. He is currently four games without a goal in the Champions League.
Mbappe said: “It is not the best start to the season, but we are preparing for the tournaments that will count.” “It wasn't what we expected, but at Real Madrid, we wait until the second half of the season. That's when 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 the presentation, there was a three-hour briefing – and I had to translate for my mother and father. It was tiring. The next day, you had your first human contact with the players, met the coach (Carlo Ancelotti). After that, we will go to the Bernabéu… The audience welcomes you like a king.”
The last…❤️💙🥺 @PSG_inside pic.twitter.com/na5oKsVRya
– Kylian Mbappe (@KMbappe) May 25, 2024
Paris Saint-Germain fans 'deserve' Champions League glory
Mbappe said reports that the Paris Saint-Germain owner wants to dissuade him from joining Madrid are far from reality. He explained: “I am in the car and news came that the Emir of Qatar will make an offer that cannot be refused to stay at Paris Saint-Germain.”
He said to me: “You see, 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.”
Mbappe, a six-time French champion who reached the 2020/21 Champions League final with Paris, has described the club as a “super powerful place, for good and for bad” and considers his time there “extraordinary”.
“Maybe the mistake I made was that I mixed everything up,” he said. “I had conflicts with people, and I defended my rights as a player, but this does not represent (my relationship with) the club.
“I never mixed everything with the players, the people on campus, the staff. With the fans, I could be more expressive. They say 'Kylian doesn't care'. They think it was a hobby before going to Madrid.
“I still watch PSG matches. I know the club by heart. When they lose, I know how difficult it is. I have always maintained this connection with PSG. It is a relationship that cannot be broken in this way.
He added: “I hope that one day they will win (the Champions League) because the fans and the people who suffer every day there, they deserve a little happiness anyway.” But not now, because I have to win a little. I'm in the best club in the world. There's nothing up there.”
My new home. Hala Madrid! 🏟️😍😃 @real madrid pic.twitter.com/2XWvNTgNqQ
– Kylian Mbappe (@KMbappe) July 17, 2024
'Lack of understanding' about reports in Sweden
After media reports linked his name to a rape investigation in Sweden in October, Mbappe took to social media to describe the coverage as “fake news.”
Mbappe's lawyers described the reports as defamatory. Deschamps also said that his exclusion from the France squad the following month had nothing to do with the reports.
“I was surprised,” Mbappe said. “I'm always surprised: these are things that happen that you don't expect to happen. I didn't receive anything, no summons. I read the same thing as everyone else. And the Swedish government didn't say anything. I'm not worried… it's just a misunderstanding. It didn't burden me because I never felt anxious.
“There is a lot of noise but I always have the same intention, which is to focus on my job and see how it turns out. When I am on board, I have the information. I have no idea who (the complainant) is. If the justice system calls me, I will leave.”
Mbappe was in Sweden after Real Madrid gave him time to rest. “It wasn't even a night out,” he said. “I had five days off and decided to leave.
“I was supposed to go somewhere else, but the coach told me to go somewhere with less danger. It was going well and I was comfortable. Before leaving, there is this picture of me leaving the restaurant. There were a lot of people ready to welcome me Upon departure, and many journalists.”
– Kylian Mbappe (@KMbappe) February 27, 2024
The media “should talk” about Mbappe
Mbappe spoke about the pressure resulting from being in the media spotlight. “If you're a star, people will talk about you if you don't talk,” he said.
“That's why I'm speaking out today. Every day, there's something, even though I haven't given any interviews. I'm not talking. I think this comes from the fact that we have to talk about Kilian at all costs.
“I wrote my story in Paris. I think I did a lot of things well, and some not so well. I made people dream, I broke records, I won titles, I gave emotions.
“You discover a new context, a new club (Madrid), a climate and an environment. You open up all your senses. It's more about observation. I will succeed here.
“Young people should not dream of being like me, because the goal of a dream is to have no limits. I did not dream of anyone, I dreamed of being great.”
