Kylian Mbappe, who has now officially joined Real Madrid after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired, broke his nose in France’s opening match of the 2024 European Championship. After missing the second match against the Netherlands, he wore a face mask for the first time in the 1-1 draw against Poland.
He was spotted wearing various masks during training and revealed before the round of 16 match against Belgium how difficult life is for him with the mask.
“I didn’t expect it, but playing with a mask is an absolute horror,” he explained. “I changed because there were things that weren’t right.”
“It’s really complicated because it limits your vision. The sweat is blocked, so you have to take them off to let it flow. In the first few days I had the impression that I was in 3D and had been invited to the Euros as a VIP… I saw the people and had the impression that it wasn’t me who was playing.”
“As soon as I can take it off, I will take it off. Now I have no choice, I will not play without it. It’s annoying. You saw that I changed it five times, but those were not all the photos – I changed it even more often. My European Championship will be like this, and it cannot be an excuse because this is the only way I can play. So I have to thank the mask.”
Mbappe re-injured his nose in a collision with Polish international Robert Lewandowski and admitted he fears Belgium will try to take advantage of his injury.
“It’s a possibility,” he admitted. “If you play with a broken nose and don’t get surgery, you become a target.”
“Lewandowski didn’t do it on purpose, I reacted instinctively to the pain, but a lot of children watch the games and you have to control yourself.”
“I knew what I was getting into, it’s not an easy situation but it’s not new either. I can take hits but I’m ready to give everything for this jersey. If I have to hurt my nose to get to the quarter-finals then it’s already broken so it’s not going to break again.”
