Mbappé on Messi and Qatar 2022 in chat with Jorge Valdano | OneFootball

KYLIAN MBAPPÉ is the star with whom Real Madrid wants to win the Champions League again. His goal-scoring power and footballing ability immediately enamored the White House, which fulfilled the mutual dream of forming a historic partnership.

The Frenchman gave an extensive interview to Jorge Valdano that was published this Sunday by Spain’s As newspaper and, among other things, he spoke in retrospect about the 2022 Qatar World Cup final. “It was a crazy match that Argentina deserved to win, because they were better throughout the game. We had a spell when we were better, but if you look at the whole thing, it’s deserved. It makes you sad, but you shouldn’t forget it, because 2026 is coming and we don’t want to end up sad again.”, he acknowledged.

Looking ahead with the French national team, the forward said: “I hope to win the 2026 World Cup. It’s a dream to lift the World Cup again. I’ve been lucky enough to do it once and reach the final in another. Losing hurts a lot, especially in a final; but I hope that, as they say, things come in threes. So I want to reach a third final and this time, win.”

He also went back to his childhood and, accepting the game of imagining what he would say to the 10-year-old Mbappé, he reflected: “I would tell him he was right to have the dream of becoming a footballer. Because playing football is a privilege. It’s a blessing to be able to play the best matches, the best competitions, against and with the best in history.”

Regarding the present with Los Blancos, he emphasized that “I’m at the best club in the world, it’s a privilege where I am and I have a lot to give. I have a lot to keep doing and improving. I hope that someday people dream about me, like they do about Cristiano Ronaldo.”

His link with Real Madrid was predestined, since at 13 he had a trial there but decided to return to France. “When I arrived at Monaco. I was 14 or 15 and I saw that everyone was talking about me as something ‘special.’ They did before, but my parents protected me a lot. I knew I was different, but I didn’t know if for better or worse. I was very innocent, very much a kid. Then, at Monaco I realized that I could be a professional, that I could be very good,” he said.

And then came the PSG stage: “I had the chance to be at home, in Paris, and it was a great opportunity for me. Seven incredible years. The pride of playing in the city where you were born is something very special. But of course I kept the dream of playing for Real Madrid, because I’d had it since I was a child. And I fulfilled it last year. I’m very happy.”

LAMINE YAMAL

Asked about the brilliant emergence of Lamine Yamal, Spain’s precocious star, Mbappé opined that “you can see he feels passion for football and that’s the only thing he should never lose. The rest… it’s his life. People talk a lot about his personal life and I think he should be left in peace. We have to accept that in football he’s a great player, but in life he’s an 18-year-old kid. And at that age we all make mistakes. We should only look at what he does on the pitch; the rest isn’t very important, as long as it isn’t serious. He’s a player with great talent to whom I wish the best of luck, that he lives the path he wants.”

MESSI AND CRISTIANO RONALDO

When it came time to focus on the two football icons of the 21st century, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Kiki confessed that “when you hear ‘footballers who have written the history of football,’ you think of Messi, of course.”

Reviewing his experience as the Rosario native’s teammate at PSG, he recalled that “Messi arrived and was a totally normal person, respectful with everyone. And as a player he’s unique. When you have someone like that on your team and you’re an attacking player, you just have to stay close and watch everything he does. How he finishes, how he stops the ball, how he passes. And I think that being so close to him helped me a lot to understand the game better.”

He added that “it was a blessing to play with Leo Messi. I never thought I would in my career. Because my dream was to go to Real Madrid, I never thought of going to Barcelona and since I thought he would always play there… I knew I’d have the chance to play against him, not with him. But I did and it was very special. I learned a lot from him and I want to thank him. Those were two very rich years. It’s a golden opportunity to have such a special player close to you.”

Finally, he dedicated praise to Cristiano Ronaldo, who “has always been a model, an example for me. I’m lucky to talk to him, to get advice from him. He helped me. At Real Madrid he’s number one, the reference player. People, even now, dream about him. But I want to make my own path. I hope people dream about me, too. May it be a historic moment for me and for Real Madrid.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.