This international truce of June, supposed to mark a moment of total concentration on the deadlines of the Blues, opens in a particular context: barely a few days earlier, Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League by crushing Inter Milan (5-0) in the final in Munich. This historic triumph of the Parisian club, long considered cursed on the European scene, threw a raw light on the absence of Kylian Mbappé in this coronation. Whoever had made this competition an obsession during his seven seasons at PSG finally sees her conquered … without him. The timing of this event has burst into the Blues' rally in Clairefontaine, transforming a club event into an omnipresent subject within the national team.
Upon their arrival, the players could not escape this burning news. Congratulations to the European champions, like the hugs addressed to the Parisians, mixed with jokes, with supported eyes, even some eloquent silences. On the ground as in the corridors of the castle, the PSG-inter subject quickly took over the first training or tactical instructions. Kylian Mbappé, captain and group leader, did not escape this particular atmosphere, he who praised the performance of PSG publicly but had to face, in private, the bitterness of a dream come true … without him. According to several observers close to the group, relayed in particular this Wednesday morning in The teamthis PSG victory is perceived both as a national pride and a bitter reminder of the career choices of the number 10, thus becoming a discreet but constant common thread of this June rally.
A striking contrast!
After a singular season, Kylian Mbappé finds the French team in an atmosphere tinged with paradoxes. After having crossed a withdrawal phase in the fall, marked by his absence during the rallies of October and November, he returned to the front of the international scene in March, in an already loaded climate. This time, the shadow does not come from its relations with the Blues, but from a symbolic and painful episode: Paris Saint-Germain, its former club, won the Champions League for the first time in its history, a few months after its departure. The contrast is cruel for Mbappé, who had left Paris to join a Real Madrid cut for the great conquests. Ironically, the Spanish “trophy machine” failed in the quarterfinals of the C1, swept by Arsenal, and had to be satisfied with the European Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, without forgetting a second place in La Liga behind Barça. Leaving Paris, the attacker thought of turning the page on a frustrating past in the Champions League, but it was without him that the dream came true at PSG.
However, Mbappé has lost none of its individual shine. He signed an exceptional statistical season: 31 goals in Liga, 43 all competitions, which allowed him to win the European gold shoe – a first for a French player since Thierry Henry in 2005. But this personal distinction does not mask a form of frustration: Mbappé came to Madrid to reign over Europe, not only to shine in figures. In Clairefontaine, he returned with the seriousness that characterizes him, welcomed as captain of the Blues, alongside Aurélien Tchouaméni. Didier Deschamps underlined his professionalism, recalling that Real had not authorized its internationals to join the selection until the last moment, even though Mbappé would have liked to arrive earlier. If the attacker seems to be comfortable in the group, displaying his intact complicity with Ousmane Dembélé, another sporting reality weighs: he remains silent from seven matches with the Blues, a rarity in his career. At the dawn of the Final Four of the League of Nations, this statistic gives this competition a particular importance, not only to restore its collective coat of arms, but also to remain a serious pretender to the Ballon d'Or in front of its former Parisian teammates.
