Appointed captain of the France team since the international retirement announced by Hugo Lloris, Kylian Mbappé (24 years old) was present in front of the media before the Euro 2024 qualifying match against Gibraltar, in Nice, this Saturday (8:45 p.m.). The new captain of the Blues had not taken part in this exercise since June 15 and had therefore been absent during the last three gatherings, five months after his last speech with the French.
Asked about this, the Paris Saint-Germain striker explained himself. “I came in June, I announced that I was not going to come to all the press conferences. Antoine Griezmann, who knows this exercise quite well, did the next three, there were also new leaders, like Mike Maignan or Aurélien Tchouaméni. The coach asked me to come back, so I came back”he first announced, before explaining that he wanted to share leadership.
Kylian Mbappé put on the show
“It was a desire to share leadership, I am not hiding anything, I take responsibility. I’m not afraid to come here, but the French team is not my team, it doesn’t belong to anyone, we left the door open to other players., added the 24-year-old striker. In a relaxed style, Kylian Mbappé even allowed himself a few jokes with the media and did not fail to put on a show by sending barbs to journalists on picky questions.
And in particular on his future at Paris Saint-Germain. “This is not the news from the France team. If you have this question, you have to come to the PSG Campus and I will answer it. The country comes first, right?, he replied dryly. For the rest, in addition to the praise for Marcus Thuram and Warren Zaire-Emery, Mbappé did not show any resentment after his third place in the last Ballon d’Or. “On the evening of the World Cup, I knew that Lionel Messi had won the Golden Ball, Erling Haaland is also having a great season, me too, but next to a World Cup won by Leo Messi, it does not weigh heavy”.
