‘As a captain, it isn’t normal’ – France fans turn on Kylian Mbappé after France snub | OneFootball

To the surprise of many, Kylian Mbappé (25) was omitted from the most recent France squad ahead of UEFA Nations League matches against Israel and Belgium.

Speaking at the unveiling of his squad, Didier Deschamps said that the decision not to call up Mbappé had been made in conjunction with the player and his club, Real Madrid. His absence would allow him to fully recover from an injury that he suffered prior to the international break, whilst Deschamps added that he didn’t doubt his captain’s “commitment” to the national team set-up.

However, following those words, Mbappé, who made an appearance off the bench against Lille OSC in the UEFA Champions League, then went on to start for Real Madrid against Villarreal at the weekend. Some in the France set-up were intrigued to see the France captain, who will not feature for Les Bleus this week, starting in a La Liga fixture, following the omission from the squad.

‘The real captain has left’ – France fans group critical of Mbappé

A spokesperson of the Irrésistibles Français, the main France supporters group told L’Équipe the following:

“What we have taken from this week is that the real captain has left, the one that was knighted by the fans, Antoine Griezmann. We asked ourselves if the choice of captain was the right one and with this episode, I don’t know. There has been an error somewhere whilst we have lost an exemplary model.”

“Is it a communication issue? It isn’t normal, as a captain. Either Real Madrid have asked him to shut up, or France, but we know that when he wants to speak, he speaks, he should assume his captaincy. I won’t go so far as to say that we feel as though we’ve been played the fool and I don’t know by whom. But it is a week to forget and it will be difficult because it will leave traces.”

The omission from the squad, and the scandal that it created, came after a national survey showed that Mbappé’s popularity had dropped significantly since his summer move from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle