Mbappé responds sharply to journalists ahead of Real Madrid–Inter in Champions League

Kylian Mbappé raised his voice at a press conference on Monday, on the eve of Real Madrid’s match against Inter Milan in the Champions League, responding with cutting frankness to two questions that visibly irritated him.

Asked about the fact that PSG won the last two editions of the competition after his departure, the French striker made no effort to hide his annoyance. “I can’t change anything about it. It’s a bit irrelevant to me. I don’t know everything about football, but I know more than a lot of people. Sometimes, these aren’t analyses, they’re things people sell. The fact of talking about me makes people sell,” he declared, making it clear to his questioner that he had not appreciated the question.

Tension escalated when a journalist brought up his lack of defensive work by comparing him to Ousmane Dembélé and Raphinha. Mbappé replied bluntly: “I can play the fool and tell you that I score more goals than the two players you mentioned, and they need to score more goals to be like me.” Before adding nuance: “Everyone is different. I want to do things intelligently. Of course I need to improve, but I don’t like comparing because I do a lot of things that others don’t do. If we go down that road, it’s an endless debate.”

This outburst comes as Mbappé approaches his first Champions League campaign in the white shirt with redoubled motivation. Real Madrid, strengthened during the summer, can also rely on the experience of José Mourinho, winner of the competition with FC Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010. Lifting the trophy in the spring remains the stated objective of the Bondy native, who has never won the Champions League.