This interview was conducted exclusively by Football España in partnership with Genting Casino.
Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe is yet to explode into life in the fashion that many had expected, and decided to take matters into his own hands this month. Missing out on France’s Nations League clashes with Israel and Belgium with a supposed injury, the 25-year-old superstar was using the time off from games to get into his best shape, and rest properly too. French World Cup-winner Emmanuel Petit has explained to Football España why there was no issue with him going to Sweden, but that the method was, in a word, s***.
It surprised many that the France captain pulled out of the clashes with an injury, given he played 71 minutes against Villarreal just before the international break. He did miss the Madrid derby the week before with a hamstring issue, but he featured against Lille too after that match.
It took little time to establish the real motive behind his absence, but it nevertheless did not go down well when he was seen in a Stockholm nightclub as Les Bleus were on the pitch.
“You could see that he was not injured, and all of sudden the day of the France game, he was partying in a nightclub in Sweden for two days. You have to separate two things, the first thing is that this problem has been managed in a bad way with Didier Deschamps and the French Federation.”
🗣️"The way they are dealing with it… It was s***, honestly. Deschamps, Mbappe, they are intelligent, they have experience."
Emmanuel Petit has told Football España that #Mbappe could've taken the last international break off, but the backlash was down to their handling of it. pic.twitter.com/L84HRG0WoU
— Football España (@footballespana_) October 24, 2024
Petit explained that missing the odd international break in of itself is no issue, but that how it is handled is important.
“For me, I’m not surprised that it happened, back in the day it happened sometimes too. When a player is feeling tired, if they’ve just moved clubs, and they need to adapt to a new country, new club, new culture, they call the manager and it’s an agreement between them. You say, ‘Gaffer, can I stay at the club? I’m being criticised, I’m under pressure, I need to set myself up, and have some time for my mind and my body to rest’. And the gaffer will say yes, no problem.”
“But when you do that, you have to be clear and honest, when you do the communication. They missed it. All of them. Mbappe, the Federation, Deschamps, and that’s when it became a big, big problem. For the last 16 months for Paris Saint-Germain and France Mbappe has not been playing well. He was a disaster during the Euros, and the fans and the press, they don’t understand.”
Putting aside the spurious stories about what Mbappe got up to on that night, it was not a great look for Mbappe, at least in France.
“Why? He is out partying in Sweden, they told us he is injured, he needs some rest, he cannot play, and the guy is there,” said Petit, recounting the reaction.
“Everything was messed up, and they are pointing fingers at Mbappe. I just want to say one thing. If the French Federation had followed the protocol with injured players, if Deschamps and the Federation had asked Mbappe, ‘just to cut the problems with the fans and the press, come to Paris.”
“Come to the airport if you want. We will send the doctors, it will take 15 minutes, we will say after that to the press that he is feeling something behind his legs. It’s nothing serious, but we don’t want to take a risk, because it is the Nations League, and who cares about that? Fair enough. End of story. No problem. But the way they did it… It was wrong.”
The former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder explains that missing international games occasionally has been commonplace in the game.
“Of course, it happened to me, it happened to many important players with the national team. It’s happened for ages, and it’s an agreement between the players and the manager.”
Football España dared to wonder if Petit had ever got himself into trouble during an international break while he was a player.
“Yeah, of course, but the way they are dealing with it… It was s***, honestly. Deschamps, Mbappe, they are intelligent, they have experience. They know that he has not been well for the last 16 months, but the way they did it. Help him properly, you’re sending him into the fires when you do that,” he sentenced.
Mbappe was back in action for Real Madrid after the international break, scoring a stunning goal against Celta Vigo to help Los Blancos to a 2-1 win in Galicia. After a discreet performance against Borussia Dortmund, the Frenchman will be hoping his fitness work shows in his first El Clasico on Saturday night, as Barcelona travel to the Santiago Bernabeu.
