Kylian Mbappe is a man who has missed out on greatness twice in recent times, and that too to a certain Argentine magician. Lionel Messi stole the limelight from the French superstar twice, once in the World Cup final, where Mbappe scored a hat trick.
Next was the Ballon d’Or ceremony, where Mbappe came in third while Messi won his eighth historic Ballon d’Or. And yet the Frenchman has no grudges against his former teammate and even says the award was justifiably given.
Kylian Mbappe justifies Messi’s 8th Ballon d’Or win
Kylian Mbappe is currently on international duty with the French national team and spoke with the French media outlet L’Equipe. There, he was asked about his feelings about the Ballon d’Or being awarded to Lionel Messi for the eighth time.
He admitted that Messi deserved the award for winning the World Cup. “Messi had to win it, he won the World Cup; he’s one of the greatest in history, if not the greatest for me.”
He also admitted that it was losing the World Cup final which had cost him the award to Messi. “Haaland had a great season, me too… but next to winning a World Cup it doesn’t weigh much. On the night of 18th December I knew that I had lost World Cup… and Ballon d’Or too. Leo deserved it.”
Kylian Mbappe did have a brilliant season for club and country, being the second top scorer behind Erling Haaland only. While he only won the league title with Paris Saint Germain, he was still instrumental for them in a team that had Messi as well. He also had a major part in France’s run to the World Cup final and was the top scorer of the tournament. Lack of success in Europe led to Messi and Haaland triumphing over him in the podium of the Ballon d’Or.
Kylian Mbappe responds to PSG future talks
There are also a lot of rumors regarding his continuity at Paris. He previously refused to sign a new contract with PSG, and is expected to leave for free in the summer of 2024. Real Madrid are being heavily linked to bring him to the Santiago Bernabeu this summer.
And when he was asked about the topic during a recent press conference for the national team, the captain did not entertain them. He reiterated that during national duty, the focus should not be on him, but on the team itself.
He told the reporters, “This is absolutely not the news from the France team. I am here as captain of the France team, and I would like to remain so for the next 10 days.”
He told them he would happily answer the question when playing for PSG later, “If you have this question and it is important to you, you should come to campus and ask me, and I will answer it if I am called to come to a press conference.”
There are currently no end to the rumors surrounding his future, with Real Madrid said to be not going in for him anymore, while Liverpool enter the race.
Whatever the case, France will be led by Kylian Mbappe against Gibraltar tonight as part of their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers.
