Kylian Mbappe opens up on racist abuse and almost quitting French national team

As one of the best players in the best players in the world, much is expected of Kylian Mbappe – especially from Real Madrid fans. The 27-year-old may have 38 goals in 35 matches this season, but he understands that criticism often comes his way.

One of the areas where Mbappe has been called out, particularly since moving to Real Madrid, has been regarding his lack of effort in a defensive sense. Previously, he was defended over this by France head coach Didier Deschamps, and in an interview on The Bridge (via Marca), he took the opportunity to issue his own response.

“I’m a player who defends a little less than the others, and sometimes that can be a problem. It’s true that I do it less, but I notice that when I do it, it really impacts the team. At Real Madrid, when I do it, you can tell that everyone else does it too. They criticize me for that, but it doesn’t bother me because it’s constructive criticism.”

Mbappe: I suffered racist abuse after Euro 2020

Mbappe also opened up on the abuse he received after missing a crucial penalty for France at Euro 2021 during their defeat at the hands of Switzerland. He admitted that it almost led to him quitting the French national team for good.

“I wanted to leave the French national team. I realised that I had put France very, very high in my priorities, but as soon as I failed, a lot of people started calling me a monkey and insulting me. And I asked myself: are these the people I fight for in the field?

“I fell from very high, because my first tournament with France was the 2018 World Cup, I won it, I was a kind of national hero, I was very young. And in the next tournament you take that in your face. It’s hard.”

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