Didier Deschamps bluntly rejected suggestions that Real Madrid had any influence over his decision to leave Kylian Mbappé out of the France squad for the matches of the League of Nations of this month’s UEFA.
The prolific striker was named permanent captain of the national team following the retirement of Hugo Lloris in March 2023. Mbappé has only scored twice in 11 games since taking on the armband and will be unable to improve on that lackadaisical form when France takes on Israel in neutral headquarters in Budapest before crossing the border into Belgium on Monday night.
Mbappé has suffered a muscle problem in recent weeks and was forced to miss the first Madrid derby of the season against Atlético de Madrid at the end of September. The 25-year-old played surprisingly quickly again, coming on as a substitute in Real Madrid’s Champions League defeat to Lille, before starting in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Villarreal.
Carlo Ancelotti had his star substitute Kylian in the final 20 minutes of last weekend’s league win and hinted at his role in Mbappé’s absence from the French squad. “I have had a conversation with Kylian,” revealed the Italian. “He has a problem, but it’s not serious. I’m not going to take risks, that’s why he’s not in the squad.”
Deschamps wanted to deny the rumors that his decision had been dictated by Real Madrid. “Mbappé was not fit to play against Villarreal,” the French coach told the assembled media. “There was no request. The decision is mine. He played the game against Villarreal without being one hundred percent.”
Antoine Griezmann announced his retirement from international football ahead of this month’s fixture, leaving few senior options for Deschamps to choose from in the captain’s role. Mbappé’s Real Madrid teammate Aurelien Tchouameni was given the responsibility.
Most of the questions that have been directed at the 24-year-old midfielder have focused on the player he is replacing. Tchouameni echoed his coach’s words, insisting that Real Madrid had nothing to do with the absence of Mbappé or his other club teammate, Ferland Mendy: “I have spoken about it with Kylian and with Ferland [Mendy] and it has never happened. There are physical problems, which is the case of Kylian. “There is no pressure from the club.”
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