Speaking in his first France press conference since mid-June, Kylian Mbappé (24) opened up about his absence from media duties in recent months.
“In my last press conference, you asked me 11 questions: nine about PSG, one about the Olympic Games and one about the match against Gibraltar,” said Mbappé during his last press conference in mid-June. Naturally, Mbappé’s Paris Saint-Germain future was the centre of attention at the time. It came just days after he sent a letter to the club’s executives, informing them of his decision not to trigger the one-year extension on his contract. That letter was essentially the starting gun on a summer-long transfer saga, and whilst Mbappé ultimately remained at PSG, he has been absent from the media scene since.
‘I want to share around the leadership’ – Mbappé
“He needs peace and quiet” said Didier Deschamps, essentially speaking on Mbappé’s behalf in October in an attempt to explain his captain’s absence from press conferences. However, Mbappé returned following PSG’s 3-0 win over Stade de Reims on Saturday, however, he was reticent to speak about last summer’s transfer saga.
Whilst Mbappé was still keen to avoid the subject of PSG and notably his future at the club on Friday, he did nonetheless explain his media silence. “The first time (I attended a press conference) was in June. In my first conference, I announced that I wouldn’t be at all the press conferences. I said that I wasn’t higher up in the hierarchy than Antoine (Griezmann). He has done the following conferences, but we left the door open for others,” said Mbappé in a press conference, transcribed by Get French Football News.
He added, “I want to share around the leadership. I am not scared of coming here, but the France national team doesn’t belong to me.”
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
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