“We are doing too much with him”

Aurélien Tchouaméni defended his teammate at a press conference before the match against Belgium.

Aurélien Tchouaméni is one of the latest to have defended Kylian Mbappé after the wave of criticism sparked by his little prank during an evening in Sweden, while the France team faced Israel that same evening.

The midfielder, named interim captain of the Blues, firmly defended his teammate during his pre-match press conference against Belgium, brushing the matter aside and emphasizing in passing that the Ligue des Nations was not an exciting competition…

“Frankly, I think we’re doing a little too much with him. Everyone has the right to think what they want, but every time it’s Kylian, it takes on disproportionate proportions. We spoke with him before the match, after the match, and where he followed him does not necessarily matter, in truth His love for the French team is no longer in doubt. He sent messages to everyone. the players to ask them how it was going, we can’t wait for him to come back, quite simply,” said Tchouameni, who will be captain again against Belgium on Monday evening.

The Real Madrid player also mentioned the Nations League, a competition that he considers unimportant, if his words are to be believed. “It’s not the competition of the century, we’re not going to hide it…. it’s no secret, but it’s a competition, and in this jersey, we have to win. I I’m happy to have been able to add this trophy to my list of achievements (in 2021), but it’s not the Euro or the World Cup…”

The native of Rouen also spoke about the rivalry with Belgium, reinforced by the latest meetings, notably that of the last Euro (1-0 victory for France in the round of 16). “If we follow the logic, at the Euro, the stadium was not full of Belgians but they managed to boo the Marseillaise, so if it’s tomorrow in Brussels, it will be even louder. It’s part of the job “It won’t change our preparation too much.”