With his head in his hands, Kylian Mbappé displays a crestfallen look on the cover of the sports daily As, Friday November 8. “Touch”headlines the Madrid newspaper in French, reporting the non-selection of the star striker for the next gathering of the French team. The day before, at midday, Didier Deschamps caused astonishment when he announced the 23 players selected for the matches against Israel and Italy on November 14 and 17. His captain's name was nowhere to be found.
“This decision logically got people talking, and Deschamps was questioned about it during the press conference but he remained evasive,” écrit As. The coach did not reveal anything about the reasons for this decision, at most he declared:
“I can tell you two things: Kylian wanted to come and it was not extra-sporting problems that came into play.”
Kylian Mbappé was already absent from the previous list concocted by Didier Deschamps in October. The reason given was then a calf injury. However, this did not prevent him from playing several matches with his club, Real Madrid.
In another article, As believes that the Blues coach could have seen this as a challenge to his authority. “If there is one thing he has shown in recent years, it is that he always emerges unscathed from all internal crises. He did not hesitate to dismiss Benzema and Rabiot, so even if the Madrid striker is a special case, his decision is mainly motivated by the desire not to cut himself off from the locker room.”
Title his article “France condemns Mbappé”the journalist adds that some sports commentators even come to question the involvement and commitment of the player with the blue jersey.
“Mbappé’s bad patch continues”can we read on the first page ofAs. In addition to his lackluster performances with Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé also found himself at the heart of a media storm. Swedish tabloids claimed he was the target of a rape investigation opened by the Stockholm public prosecutor's office, following his visit to the Swedish capital in October. His lawyer announced the filing of a complaint for “slanderous denunciation”.
France
