Kylian Mbappe’s absence from France’s match against Azerbaijan – an ankle inflammation that will see him undergo tests in Madrid – has reignited the debate in his country. The striker scored a brace against Ukraine, qualification for the World Cup is sealed and yet his absence has not gone unnoticed.
Former international Jerome Rothen was the most forceful in analyzing the situation. He recalled that already during the 4-0 win over Ukraine many were wondering who would be “the one to invent a discomfort” to avoid the trip to Baku. And he went further: “Mbappe is the captain, he receives special treatment, okay. But there are other players who carry the same number of games during the year. Do you think they are not tired and would not prefer to skip an inconsequential match? They go because they have to”.
And he adds: “Does he get that special treatment? When you qualify, everything is fine, but when things get tough… Making decisions like that can cause problems in the dressing room, and I’m still convinced that there are players fed up with this preferential treatment”.
Rothen warned that these privileges can blow up a dressing room when things go wrong: “While you’re winning, nobody says anything. But when things start to go wrong, decisions like that take their toll. I still think there are players fed up with all this”.
At the other extreme was Emmanuel Petit, who asked not to overstate the issue. For him, it is media noise around the country’s most decisive player: “They want to create a scandal where there is none. Although some people may be upset, we are talking about France’s leader, who has scored seven goals and five assists in his last six games, who already has 400 goals in his career. Preferential treatment has always existed. And if I were a player, I wouldn’t mind: we’re talking about a guy who wins games on his own”
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