French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé said that there were “things and people that made me unhappy” during his final season at Paris Saint-Germain, in his first comments since his blockbuster move to Real Madrid.
The 25-year-old’s move to the Spanish capital was confirmed on Monday, ending one of the longest-running transfer sagas in soccer.
Mbappé was speaking at a media conference on Tuesday ahead of France’s friendly against Luxembourg and stressed that his long-expected move to Madrid was a “relief,” while also adding that his final season in Paris was filled with mixed emotions.
While saying in general that he was happy in his final season, he went to detail one aspect that did make him unhappy.
“So I tried to be as positive as possible. And as I said, the coach, the players, all the employees, everyone at the club helped me a lot,” he told reporters. “But there were things and [some] people that made me unhappy, of course.”
Mbappé did not name or say who and what made him unhappy during his final year at the club.
Mbappé had long been connected with a move to Los Blancos, even before he signed a two-year contract extension – with a player option for a third year – with PSG in 2022.
He played more than 300 games for the French club, scoring his 250th goal in March and winning the Ligue 1 title a month later.
But his final season in Paris was overshadowed by speculation around his future. And Mbappé admitted on Tuesday that he had been told by some at the club that he wasn’t going to play at all last season.
“It was told to me, it was made clear to me, it was conveyed through the media, it was said to my face. It was very clear; I was spoken to harshly. So, for me, I was convinced that I wasn’t going to play,” he said.
“The people who saved me were [manager] Luis Enrique and Luís Campos, the sporting director. They are the ones who saved me. Without them, I would never have set foot on the field again.”
CNN has reached out to PSG for comment on Mbappé’s press conference.
Last week, before Mbappé’s move to Madrid was confirmed, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi paid tribute to the French international in an interview with CNN.
“I wish him all the best,” told CNN Sport’s Amanda Davies at the Globe Soccer Awards Forum in Sardinia, Italy.
“He’s done amazing for us for seven years. He was vice captain, he came to us at 18 years old or less, and now he is a big man, best player in the world.
“I am proud of what he has done for the club and I wish him all the best. You never know maybe one day he comes back to France, that’s football.
“He only deserves good things and I wish him all the best,” Al-Khelaifi added.
Mbappé on Tuesday described himself as being “very happy” for finally signing for Real – saying that “a happy man has more chances of playing better than a sad man” – although he emphasized that was no excuse for his performances this year and that his immediate focus is on helping Les Bleus win this summer’s European Championship in Germany.
“I think that it is the things that you can easily see on the face, as I said it is something I have always wanted, so I am very happy. After the last season, of course, I played much less – everyone knows why I have played less. But it is like this, you have to adapt,” he said.
“There are difficulties to overcome when you are a high-level athlete and this will absolutely not be an excuse for my competition. At the moment, we are working hard on physicality with the coach, so I know to return with the best form possible.
“And my objective is to help the French team to go as far as possible and of course to try and bring the cup home.”
France’s Euros campaign begins on June 17 against Austria.
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