«I Only Make Tough Decisions»: Mbappé's Career with the French National Team at Risk
Deschamps left the forward out of the Nations League matches, sparking speculation about a possible conflict between them. The uncertainty around the coach's future remains high.
Another controversy surrounds Kylian Mbappé. To the rocky start of his career at Real Madrid and accusations of assault, there's no tension with the French national team. Mbappé has missed the squad selection for the second consecutive time. While he sat out the October call-up due to injury, he is now healthy.
French national team head coach Didier Deschamps has explained his decision, though it hasn’t cleared up the situation.
Head Coach Didier Deschamps: "I discussed this situation with Mbappé. After our meeting, I thought about it and made a decision that I believe is best. I can only say two things: Kylian wanted to join, and this decision is unrelated to non-sporting issues where the presumption of innocence applies. I make tough decisions and have done so many times before. Each player has their personality. Not everyone is happy when I announce the national team list, but I take responsibility for these choices. I have to live with them and make tough decisions every time."
The French outlet RMC Sport provided more details. According to their journalists, Deschamps called Mbappé and informed him he would not be selected. The coach emphasized that the decision was to protect the player. Mbappé thanked Deschamps for the warning, and the coach hopes Kylian will be in optimal form for the next call-up. There are disagreements between Mbappé and Deschamps, but the decision is also meant to give other players a chance.
However, French media present other perspectives. Esteemed journalist Romain Molina (who has worked with CNN, BBC, The New York Times, and Le Temps) claims that Mbappé no longer wants to play for the national team due to a possible fallout with Deschamps. According to Molina, despite Deschamps' statement that Mbappé wished to join the team, it was actually the 25-year-old forward who declined to join. Their relationship remains complicated.
This is indirectly confirmed by Mbappé's entourage. Someone close to the player told L’Equipe that Deschamps' comments on leaving Kylian out contained misleading information: "This information is incorrect or incomplete. It’s much more complex. Making people believe that it was the coach's decision is misleading. But the most important thing is for Kylian to find happiness in playing football again. Everything else will follow."
French journalist Daniel Riolo also speculates that Mbappé may never play for France under Deschamps again: "I'm 1000% certain Deschamps is making Mbappé pay for what happened last time. First, ‘I’m injured, I won’t play,’ then three days later, he’s playing for Real. Deschamps ended up looking foolish. In terms of authority and just human respect, Deschamps couldn’t ignore it, so he sidelined Mbappé. Whether Mbappé is right or wrong is his own issue, but I’m not sure he’ll learn from this. We’ll see what happens in March. Things could escalate to the point that Kylian doesn’t return to the national team while Deschamps is still there. Mbappé is the team captain, and the armband is still his. But we can't rule out a future scandal and a decision like, 'Fine, I’m not coming back for now.'"
And there’s more. Romain Molina also reported that French players are tired of Deschamps and want Zinedine Zidane to take charge of the team. However, the French Football Federation trusts Deschamps. It expects him to lead the team to the 2026 World Cup, making a change to Zidane before summer 2026 unlikely. Still, the players' discontent is a troubling backdrop for Deschamps amid the Mbappé situation.
As for Mbappé himself, he has the international break to recover mentally, something L'Équipe reports he badly needs after a controversial trip to Sweden. He also struggles with a rocky start to his career at Real Madrid. "Call it what you will, but Kylian has had psychological issues for months. They don’t appear without reason. Time and work with professionals are needed," said someone close to Mbappé to L'Equipe.
Kylian returned to Paris to unwind, where he played paddle tennis with friends, including PSG defender Achraf Hakimi. Photos circulating on social media also showed him playing video games with Hakimi. But even this moment was marred by controversy: observant fans spotted a hookah in the background.
Some fans criticized Mbappé, although there’s no evidence that he was the one smoking. In any case, any news about Kylian attracts immense attention and emotional responses. It’s unlikely that the media frenzy around him will settle down anytime soon.
Published by Patrick Jane
14.11.2024