During an interview with Canal+, Ibrahima Konaté spoke about the situation of Kylian Mbappé. The defender of the France team assures that he could not hold out against the pressure around the Real Madrid striker.
He has not set foot in Clairefontaine for two rallies. But his name remains on everyone's lips. Not called up for the two Nations League matches against Israel (this Thursday at 8:45 p.m.) and against Italy (Sunday at 8:45 p.m.), Kylian Mbappé continues to stir up news for the France team.
During the last international window, the reason for his withdrawal and then his escapade to Sweden were widely commented on. This time, it is the choice of Didier Deschamps, the coach ensuring that he made the decision not to call up the Real Madrid striker even though the latter “wanted to come”, which is causing a lot of talk. A situation which proves that the pressure around Mbappé is untenable according to Ibrahima Konaté, his teammate in the France team jersey.
Konaté: “You must not be ungrateful”
“When he is with us, the journalists, everyone is around him. Mbappé today, the place he has in this world, it is exceptional. I often tell him: 'Your level of football , I want it, but I don't want your life,'” said the Liverpool defender, claiming the captain's armband in the absence of Mbappé, at the microphone of Canal+. “Because, frankly, it’s very difficult that his name is everywhere, at the slightest actions, we’re constantly talking about him.”
“Now, Mbappé, when he is with us, we know the qualities he has. We know what he has brought us,” Konaté continued. “And we must not be ungrateful for what he was able to bring to this France team. He has done a lot of things and the whole world is aware of it.”
During the last meeting, in October, Mbappé was left at the disposal of Real Madrid, officially to treat minor physical problems and take some rest. But he was then in turmoil after being aligned in La Liga by the Merengue club, two days before the start of the Blues training camp. The controversy surrounding the 2018 world champion took on a whole new dimension after revelations from the Swedish press about the opening of a rape investigation targeting him, according to the daily newspapers Aftonbladet and Expressen.
