Yann M’Vila makes revelations about Kylian Mbappé’s Caen

At 34 years old, Yann M’Vila has traveled quite a bit during his career. After Amiens, Stade Rennais, Rubin Kazan, Sunderland, AS Saint-Etienne, Olympiakos and West Bromwich Albion, the midfielder was looking for a new challenge this summer 2024. And that’s it that he received a phone call that changed his future as he revealed this Monday evening in the podcast Red and Blue of West France. In fact, a certain Kylian Mbappé gave him a call to tell him about his new project in Caen.

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“I don’t particularly have the dates in mind. But let’s say that 4 or 5 days before my signing, he called me. He was with his mother on the phone, in a conference. He told me about the project, about what he expected of me. I then saw his mother and we agreed. They know that I like to say, because it’s very important, there are talented players and reliable players. I am reliable. If you can have both, that’s good too. They know that I am reliable and that they can count on me to give my all until the end of my contract (…) I accepted directly. For me, it’s an exciting challenge. I like having pressure. The right positive pressure.”

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Nothing is going well for Kylian Mbappé’s SM Caen!

Mbappé convinced him

M’Vila, who appreciates Fayza Lamari whom he knew during his time in Rennes, specified that the Mbappé clan inquired with mutual friends about him before signing him. But the family was quickly reassured by the midfielder, who played 140 matches in 3 years at Olympiakos. A club with which he also participated in the European Cup. With all this experience, he admitted to having hesitated a little before trying the adventure in the French second division. But his exchange with KM9 completely reassured him.

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“It was a brake until Kylian (Mbappé) was called in a way. Before that, I said to myself, I don’t think I can play in Ligue 2. I’m not saying it was too easy. On the contrary, it’s perhaps a little harder in combat. I realize that it’s still quite difficult because there are big teams with big sizes, a lot of physicality, but I’m learning. When I look at my stats, I’m doing more than usual. It’s because physically, I’m on the right track. »

Frustrating start for Caen

He explained that he ran much more than in his former clubs (12km covered during his last match) and did more high-intensity races. Feeling good in his crampons and in his head, since he has recovered from a period of depression, Yann M’Vila wants to help the Normandy team return to the French elite. For the moment, we are still far from the mark since Caen is currently fourteenth in Ligue 2 with 7 points on the clock (2 wins, 1 draw and 5 defeats in 8 days of the championship). Disappointed, the former Rennais explained the difficult beginnings of his club.

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“I’m not going to use the term bad, but I’m going to say that it’s frustrating because we have the capacity to do much better. We have the group and the qualities for it. As I was able to tell certain people, I think we have a little blockage that we will have to manage very quickly to be able to take the maximum number of points and try to have a good series (…) I think that that is mental because physically we look at the stats after each match, they are quite good. So it’s more mental there. Anyway, when we talk about determination, for me we got eaten up in most matches, it’s mental. After all, everyone is different. But for me, from what I feel, from the experience that I have also had, it is a psychological problem in my opinion. »

M’Vila dreams bigger

M’Vila believes that his team will have to do better away to hope for better. Especially since he has big ambitions. “I say it openly, I came here for a purpose. Everyone panics. The supporters, I can totally understand them, but there are several matches left. You just have to have a good series (…) I have no right to panic and I have to re-mobilize the troops to move up to L1. I still believe in it today, even if we are 14th. I won’t give up until the end. Caen is an L1 club and we have to be there (…) I will give 200%.”

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He also wants to take an example from OL, who made a crazy comeback in L1 last year. Very invested, the Frenchman gives his all and wants to help Caen achieve his goal, he who is approaching the end of his career. But as he explained, he plans to still play until he is 40 or even older. In any case, today he is clearly involved in the Mbappé family project. “We’re not going to lie to each other. I’m not going to sign for Real Madrid. Today, I have Caen left and I want to do everything to help this club get back into L1. I want to do beautiful things.” It’s up to him!