Back with the French national team for this international break, Kylian Mbappé gave an interview to the daily newspaper Le Parisien. Excerpts.
His relationship with Didier Deschamps: “I’ve never cut off contact with the coach, my relationship with him hasn’t changed. And it hasn’t changed with the staff or the players either. It will be very natural. I’m arriving as if I’d never left.”
A problem with the coach: “If there was a breakup, I would never have answered his calls. Everyone knows me. If there’s a breakup with someone, I don’t maintain contact, I don’t know how to pretend. Now, I’ve had my education, I’ve always had respect and gratitude for the coach. And I won’t lose that respect, he was my only coach in the French team, he gave me my first selection. We’ve had success together and our relationship can’t end up in the trash over two or three disagreements that, moreover, aren’t serious at all. What disagreements? They’re not secrets, but they are disagreements that people don’t need to know about.”
On whether he was informed of Deschamps’ decision to retire after the World Cup: “No, and I didn’t want to be. It’s a personal decision, it’s his. He’s been with the French national team for many years, he’s had enormous success, and I hope he finishes with one last.”
Who he’s thinking of as his successor: “I know who you want me to talk about, but I won’t talk about him because that’s not my role. Everyone talks about Zidane, so we’re not going to pretend to be living in a cave, but that’s not for me to talk about.”
Some say that PSG is stronger without him: “It’s not something that concerns me. I watch all the football matches, and obviously PSG’s too. I really wish them the best. But I’m focused on Real Madrid and this historic treble we can achieve. It’s something Real Madrid has never achieved, so it would be truly extraordinary for my first season to achieve it. I’m trying not to think about anything else so that I can be 150% with Real Madrid and bring home these trophies.”
His dispute with PSG, from whom he is demanding €55 million: “It’s in the hands of the lawyers. I think it will be resolved soon, so it’s not something that concerns me.”
Dembélé’s chances of winning the Ballon d’Or: “Today, we don’t know who will win the Ballon d’Or. We can’t rule anyone out; any player can be rewarded, maybe even a goalkeeper. Last time, I thought it would go to Vinicius, but in the end, it was Rodri who won. If I had told you three months ago, you would have said, ‘What are you talking about?’”
A possible Champions League semi-final between Real and PSG: “The worst mistake would be to think about that. It reminds me of last year, when everyone thought it was a given, that there would be a PSG-Real final. And in the end, we didn’t make it to the final. So I’m only thinking about Arsenal, who will be our opponent in the quarter-finals, and my team, Real Madrid. We’re involved in all competitions. We have the opportunity to achieve something great in this last part of the season and all our strength must be devoted to that, to ourselves and to the upcoming matches. These types of projections should be left to the general public, to the people who have the right to get carried away or to speculate. We don’t have time for that.
Would he be willing to shake Nasser Al-Khelaïfi’s hand if he met him? “Of course, of course! I played for seven years in Paris, I experienced extraordinary moments there. I’m not the type to only look at the negative, I know how to be grateful for what I’m given in life, both professionally and personally. Of course I would shake his hand, and don’t imagine me spitting in my hand before shaking his.”
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