Anwar Ibrahim (Cairo)
The chances of Frenchman Kylian Mbappe (25 years old) participating in the Olympic Games, which will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11 next year, have diminished, especially after the news that was reported recently, indicating that the “spoiled Bondi boy” will not have the honor of carrying his country’s flag with the French delegation. , during the Olympic parade queue, because he did not meet the Olympic standards on his person, despite being the most famous French athlete in the world.
Le Parisien newspaper revealed that Mbappe lacks some of the criteria that would allow him to play this role, including the need for him to have previously participated more than once in Olympic tournaments.
But there are other reasons that make it more difficult for the world champion, crowned champion of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, to participate in the tournament, according to L'Equipe, and make his situation threatened, because he will no longer be a player in his current club, Paris Saint-Germain, but rather begin a new phase with his new club, which is… Most likely Real Madrid, and it is natural that the “Merengue” will not accept that its new “super” star begins his career with the team, by participating in a competition or tournament that does not originally fall within the framework of the “international agenda” set by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) for the participation of international players with… Their country's teams, which are limited to the first team, and have nothing to do with the Olympic teams, which are considered not binding on the clubs.
The newspaper pointed out that the European Nations Cup “Euro 2024” in Germany will be held from June 14 to July 14 next, while the Olympic football tournament starts from July 24, meaning that the difference between the final match of the “Euro” if a team reaches it France is first, and the start of the Olympic football matches is only ten days away, which makes it difficult for Mbappe – physically and mentally – to participate in the Olympic tournament, because the time interval between the two competitions is narrow and insufficient to rest and prepare again for another tournament.
L'Equipe concluded its report by saying: Mbappe should forget about participating in the Paris Olympics and focus all his focus on Euro 2024 with the Rooster national team, and on his upcoming signing with his new team, Real Madrid, which is not obligated to agree to the participation of any of its players in the tournaments. Rather, his first concern is for his newcomer star to be ready to start the preparation period for the new season with the rest of the players, and to participate with them in the summer tour that the team undertakes annually to the United States, which comes close to the start of the Olympic tournament.
The funny thing is that Thierry Henry, coach of the French Olympic team, when asked about his opinion on including Mbappe, and also Antoine Griezmann, the star of Atletico Madrid, after they expressed their strong desire to participate in the Olympic tournament, said: This matter does not concern me in the first place, but rather it depends on the approval of the French Olympic team. The club where each of them plays.
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