Mbappé puts pressure on Deschamps: "Let the Italians take an Italian"

Kylian Mbappé did not mince his words about Didier Deschamps’ future: the France captain wants his manager to leave the national team in style — with a World Cup title — and not to take a seat on a foreign bench.

With Deschamps’ name circulating persistently in Italy, Mbappé brushed aside that prospect. “Because I hope he won’t replay it with another team… I’m putting pressure on him! I saw, they talked about Italy and all that, but that would be ugly,” said the Real Madrid striker. When asked about a possible move by the coach to Argentina, his reaction was even more decisive: “No! He’s coach Didier Deschamps after all.”

Mbappé then paid tribute to the manager’s record while setting out the terms of his mission for the World Cup. “The best way to pay tribute to him is to win. Because he loves to win. So we’re going to make sure he has the best of his last World Cups, hoping it’s his last.” Before concluding bluntly: “He means a lot to us. Quite a few national teams will want him, given the work he’s done. Let the Italians take an Italian! Didier is French, he’s ours.”

Deschamps himself had tried to extinguish the speculation. In a recent interview with Marca, the manager — who will step down after fourteen years in charge of France — acknowledged having been on Real Madrid’s radar, before insisting he has only the World Cup on his mind: “That doesn’t interest me for now. The most important thing is today and tomorrow. Tomorrow is the World Cup. I’ve always considered myself to be in service of the France team.”

The question of life after Deschamps certainly arises in a context of significant squad turnover: several France players — Bradley Barcola, Manu Koné, Maghnes Akliouche, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Malo Gusto and Maxence Lacroix — are expected on the transfer market this summer. The manager had asked for these matters to be put on hold during the competition.