"He was disappointed, it's understandable" - Kylian Mbappe opens up on chat with Antoine Griezmann after being appointed France captain
Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe opened up on the chat he had with Antoine Griezmann after being selected as the captain of the French national team. Mbappe, 24, will lead Les Bleus following Hugo Lloris' retirement.
Many have criticized Didier Deschamps' decision to name Mbappe the captain. They believe that Griezmann, 32, should have been given the role since he is a far more experienced player. He has made 117 appearances for Les Bleus, compared to Mbappe's 66.
The PSG ace recently spoke about the chat he had with Griezmann following the captaincy saga. He said:
“I spoke with Antoine because he was disappointed. It's understandable… He spent more than 10 years in this team. I am not his superior, he has an experience that I don't have. He is valued and loved by the whole group. We will be hand in hand.”
Kylian Mbappé: “I spoke with Antoine because he was disappointed. It's understandable… He spent more than 10 years in this team. I am not his superior, he has an experience that I don't have. He is valued and loved by the whole group. We will be hand in hand.” 🗣️
🚨 Kylian Mbappé: “I spoke with Antoine because he was disappointed. It's understandable… He spent more than 10 years in this team. I am not his superior, he has an experience that I don't have. He is valued and loved by the whole group. We will be hand in hand.” 🗣️🇫🇷
France are set to play the Netherlands on March 24 in the 2024 UEFA Euro qualifiers. It will be Les Bleus' first game under Kylian Mbappe's leadership.
Despite his age, Mbappe has already achieved massive things with France. After playing a starring role in the 2018 FIFA World Cup triumph in Russia, Mbappe won the Golden Boot in Qatar as Les Bleus finished second.
Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez praised Kylian Mbappe
Emi Martinez was embroiled in controversy after he celebrated with a doll which had Mbappe's face on it during Argentina's World Cup celebrations.
The Aston Villa shot-stopper, though, had nothing but praise for the Frenchman as he recently told GOAL:
“World class player, what can I say. He was rapid. He was great. He was powerful and he scored four goals past me (including a penalty in the final shootout).”
Speaking about his infamous celebration, Martinez said:
“There was a lot of people, a lot of toys in the bus parade. Imagine there is six million people throwing things at you so you're going to receive loads of things. There was obviously a lot (toys) of French players or Holland players… that's Argentina and the fans trying to show it makes you laugh. It was nothing more than that, just celebration.”
Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick in an action-packed final at the Lusail Iconic Stadium. His efforts, though, went in vain as Argentina won the game on penalties.