Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann may be rivals at club level, but they are bound together on the international stage – or at least they were until the latter announced his retirement back in September.
That came as a shock to many, and on the back of it, there was speculation that the decision could have come because Griezmann was snubbed as France captain in favour of Mbappe getting the armband. The Real Madrid superstar has now addressed the matter, stating that he has a strong rapport with the Atletico Madrid icon, as per Le Parisien (via Marca).
“I can assure you that Antoine and I have a very good relationship. In fact, he has already invited me several times to his house for a barbecue. But in Madrid it is impossible to do so before the double header. It hasn’t happened yet, but it sure will, because we live next to each other in the same house. Not only did I know he was going to quit, but he explained why. But it’s always the same, it’s his decision, and only he can explain to you why he made that decision.
“We talked about it a lot before, and we did it again in the training camp in September… That concentration was difficult for him and me, we suffered a lot. After France-Belgium (in September), we returned to Madrid together, and he was with his family… I can’t tell you anything else, except that it didn’t take me by surprise when he announced his retirement.”
Mbappe was also asked about the possibility of Zinedine Zidane becoming the next head coach of France, following confirmation that current manager Didier Deschamps will be leaving his post after the 2026 World Cup.
“I don’t know who will succeed him. I know who you want me to talk about, but I won’t talk about him because that’s not my role. There is a president of the Federation, and he is the one who is going to make that decision. Everyone is talking about Zidane, so we’re not going to pretend that we live in a cave and we don’t know what’s going on, but it’s not for me to talk about it.”
