Kylian Mbappe: Mourinho comes out swinging after nightclub and Swiss bike ride storm
Kylian Mbappe is still somehow the story despite playing just one of France’s games during an international break in which Manchester City have been found guilty in one of the biggest sporting scandals in history and Cristiano Ronaldo has been at war with Portugal boss Jorge Jesus. Jose Mourinho can’t believe it.
Mbappe limped off the pitch in the second half of France’s 1-0 victory over Turkey on September 25 and has since been seen in a nightclub and a bicycle.
Both of those apparently flagrant rule breaches have kicked up an extraordinary storm to the point where the Spanish media have suggested he might be on the receiving end of some abuse from Madristas when he returns to action at the Bernabeu against Villarreal on Saturday.
“If an angry reaction happens from Real Madrid supporters against Mbappé, it would be a great victory for you (the media),” Mourinho said in his pre-match press conference.
“Huge matters, such as the Manchester City case, or the old story you love to talk about, or the difficult situation in my country with Cristiano Ronaldo and his coach, were not enough to feed your work. Real Madrid is Real Madrid, and there must always be something to find to talk about.”
Mourinho explained that the nightclub Mbappe was pictured in was in fact hosting a private event during Paris Fashion Week, so not a nightclub in a typical sense. But the Madrid boss arguably has himself to blame for the fuss made over Mbappe being pictured on a bicycle in Switzerland.
“You are a football player 24 hours a day,” Mourinho said only last month. “Everything reflects the job. What you eat, what you drink, how you sleep, even things in your private life. You cannot ski. You cannot ride a bike.
“You fall off your bike, and you don’t play three matches maybe, or maybe worse, maybe you break a leg… there are a lot of things you have to give up to be a football player.”
He Mourinho said Mbappe was merely using a bike to get between the shared facilities of a hotel made up of small units, hardly the cycling race the media had dressed it up as.
Asked if the furore over Mbappe’s antics were excessive, Mourinho didn’t hold back.
“Excessive? The matter is ridiculous,” he said.
“For me, a player is a player 24 hours a day. And anything important or negative he does in his private life always has repercussions. I believe that a player remains a human being, and he has the right to make mistakes, but he must have a sense of responsibility.
“I have been in Spain for 13 years, and you know me, I do not lie. I may try to dodge a question or deal cleverly with a complicated issue, but I do not lie about anything. If you ask me about the player who will start the match, I will not tell you, but I will not say that he will not play and then include him.”
Asked if he would understand if the Madrid fans turn on Mbappe, he added: “This is one of your goals. You do not need to be Einstein to understand that this is the goal. I do not want to talk about the party I mean, I may be wrong, but it is one of the goals. As for the Bernabéu supporters, I will not comment on their stance, because I respect them.
“I hope the Bernabéu supporters will be able to be fair. Fairness means being intelligent, reading between the lines, understanding the dynamics, and realising the goals.”
On his expectations of his players, Mourinho insisted: “I assure you that any Real Madrid player who does not behave in a way befitting a Real Madrid player, or fails to perform his duties as a player, or does not adhere to his responsibilities as a player or a citizen, you will not see him on the bench. You will not get the chance to boo him, because he will be at home. I will not give him the chance to sit on the bench.
“Mbappé will play, and he will not even be on the bench. I am certain that he has not breached his commitments towards Real Madrid.”
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