If they now like each other under the blue jersey, Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappé, who will face each other this Tuesday evening, have had words in the past in the France team.
Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappé will face each other this Tuesday evening on the San Siro pitch. A fortnight ago, the first confrontation turned to the advantage of the Parisian striker, author of the opening score thanks to his special at the near post. A goal which will not have surprised his Milanese rival. “ I know Kylian very well, we have been playing together for more than six years with France. Everyone knows his talent which is exceptional. We know he’s one of the best players in the world », He confided again the day before at a press conference.
The former Gunner was not always so friendly with the Bondynois. The best example obviously dates back to the preparation match against Bulgaria a few days before the start of Euro 2020. Questioned on the L’Equipe channel after his double about his discretion until his two goals, the native of Chambéry had expressed his frustration. “ Discreet because sometimes we make races but the balls don’t arrive, afterwards I don’t claim to always make the right calls but I strive to give solutions in the area “, he said, specifying: “ For once, with two good balls from Ben (Pavard) and Wissam (Ben Yedder), I was able to finish well but we could have scored more goals if we had been more efficient. »
Mbappé’s anger
You didn’t have to be a great cleric to understand that Kylian Mbappé was targeted. The Bondynois did not fail to respond to him. “We talked about it. It’s true that we talked about all that. We talked about it a lot. I was affected by it but we’re not going to make a big deal out of it”he confided, adding: “It’s not what he said that bothered me. It expresses a feeling. I’ve already had this feeling 365 times in a match. It’s more about putting it out publicly. I congratulated him in the locker room for his goals and he didn’t say anything to me. In his statement, he doesn’t say anything nasty, that’s the problem. Take it out publicly. I would have preferred him to come and be even more virulent with me in the locker room. If I have something to say, I say it, but it stays in the locker room. But these are small trifles. We don’t need to put obstacles in the way. »
This quarrel will not be without consequences for Olivier Giroud, sidelined from the Blues for many months by Didier Deschamps following this Euro before his triumphant return in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup. A World Cup during which the two men would meet to be very complicit.
