Kylian Mbappe accused of receiving favourable treatment

In the last 24 hours, Kylian Mbappe has returned to Real Madrid, having dropped out of the France squad after their 4-0 victory over Ukraine. The striker injured his ankle during that match, which has meant he will not be involved in Les Bleus’ final World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan.

It’s the second international break in a row where Mbappe has withdrawn from France’s squad due to an injury, but not everyone believes that the 26-year-old is genuine. Former footballer Jerome Rothen made it clear that the situation does not sit right with him, as per RMC Sport (via Sport).

“In the 80th minute, with the 4-0 in favour, we all wondered how long it would take for an alleged injury to occur. Mbappe is the captain of France, he receives special treatment and that seems good to me. But he has teammates around him who play the same number of games or more than him in a year. Do you think they are not tired and would not prefer to avoid this inconsequential match in Baku? Yes, but they will go because they have to go.”

Rothen also believes that this “special treatment” Mbappe receives does not go down well with his international colleagues.

“They qualified, so far so good, but when things get complicated… . Decisions like these can cause problems in the dressing room, and I am convinced that there are players fed up with this favourable treatment.”

Emmanuel Petit jumps to defence of Mbappe

However, another ex-Les Bleus star in Emmanuel Petit jumped to Mbappe’s defence during this debate, who accused Rothen of making something out of nothing.

“I criticised him last year for not going to Sweden, but now you are trying to create a scandal where there is none. Even if it bothers someone in the dressing room, we are talking about the best player of all (in the squad).”