Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe's recent comments, in which he insists he deserves the Ballon d'Or, have drawn heavy criticism from the French press.
The recent comments made by Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe related to the Ballon d'Or have made many journalists and former players, such as Jerome Rothen and Daniel Riolo, annoyed with him. This was demonstrated this Thursday when their opinion on the program RMC Sport went viral.
"Is Kylian Mbappe's media campaign for the Ballon d'Or bordering on ridiculous?" Rothen wondered. Later, Riolo spoke about the interview the Madrid forward gave to RFI last Tuesday. "There is a huge strategy behind it. And it seems to me that it is practically the interview that most structures his campaign, almost. I do not think we doubted it before he was in campaign mode, but when I saw RFI, I told myself: 'Wow, here we really are before a worldwide organization,' and right after we found out about the CNN thing.
On Sunday, in the derby, he had a catastrophic match. He gave the interview on Friday afternoon, 48 hours before the match. It is his obsession of the moment. It took 17 days to organize the interview; such a long preparation for an interview is astonishing. I would tell you it comes more from Clan Mbappe than from RFI."
It seems that Mbappe is really eager to win that individual trophy, since he has addressed the topic in multiple interviews over the last few weeks, not only with RFI. However, his performance at Real Madrid does not quite match his desires. Clearly, he is the team's scorer; it is not a complaint, but in important matches such as against Atletico de Madrid and Real Betis, the Frenchman has not been able to save his team from those defeats, even missing penalties or shots on goal with no goalkeeper.
To wrap up, Riolo says: "It is his obsession of the moment. What he says in this interview is pure demagoguery. He arrives with the garlands and the confetti. You can see it from kilometers away. It looks like a stolen car (a colloquial idiom that in France means something is too obvious, exaggerated, or suspicious)."
Now, Mbappe's current situation is complicated, since in this Friday's match between Turkey and France, he was injured in the play where he scored the winning goal. It seems to be a hyperextension according to later statements by the coach, Zinedine Zidane. He is currently back in Madrid to continue his recovery, although the time he will be out of the field has not yet been discussed.
