Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid CF. Cesar Cebolla/PRESSINPHOTO

Kylian Mbappe slammed for skipping international duty

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Oct 8, 2024 8:35 AM ET

French captain Kylian Mbappe has been criticized for missing the upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Israel and Belgium despite being available to play for his club, Real Madrid.

The 25-year-old suffered a thigh injury during Madrid's 3-2 win over Alaves on Sept. 24 but returned to action last Wednesday when Los Blancos were upset by Lille in the Champions League. Thereafter, the forward also played in Saturday's 2-0 win over Villarreal, signaling he was back to full fitness.

Yet, Mbappe was left out of his country's squad for the UEFA Nations League, with French manager Didier Deschamps announcing that his skipper was not ready to play in the international ties.

In a video released by the French Football Federation (FFF) on Monday, Deschamps said, "Kylian embodies a lot of things. The interests of the clubs and the national teams inevitably diverge. We must also remember that the employer is the club, not the federation."

Kylian Mbappé is facing criticism in his home country for skipping France's Nations League games against Israel and Belgium while being available to play for Real Madrid. pic.twitter.com/Z4sR0DpBgY
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 7, 2024

Deschamps' vague comments caused a lot of backlash, with several former French players suspecting that Mbappe voluntarily decided to skip the Nations League games.

"Either you're injured and you don't play for your club, or you're not called up to the national team," Maxime Bossis told L'Equipe, via Daily Sabah. "But when you come off the bench in the Champions League and start a league game, it makes things unclear."

Fabien Bonnel, a spokesperson for the Irresistibles Francais, was very harsh in his critique of Mbappe.

"We wondered if the choice of captain had been the right one, and with this episode, I don't know," Bonnel wrote in L'Equipe. "I wouldn't go so far as to say that we feel like we're being taken for fools, and I don't know by whom. As a captain, Mbappe must be an example for the fans, and he has not been."

In Mbappe's absence, France is expected to hand over the captaincy to ace defender Aurelien Tchouameni, but FFF has yet to make an official announcement.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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