French Legend Criticizes Real Madrid Star Kylian Mbappe as “Undeserving”

Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe has faced criticism for being an “undeserving” captain from French and Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit.

Didier Deschamps’ France team was ousted from the European Championship on Tuesday after a 2-1 loss to Barcelona’s prodigy Lamine Yamal in the semifinals.

After the match, Mbappe admitted he had been a “failure” in the tournament in Germany, where he was largely ineffective and scored only one goal from a penalty in the group stage.

Mbappe admitted during a press conference, “Is there any real competition for me? It was tough.” “It was a failure. We had the ambition to become European champions, and I had the ambition to be a European champion. We are not, so it’s a failure.

“It’s football. We have to move forward. It’s been a long year. I will go on vacation and get some rest – which will benefit me greatly, and I will try to come back strong,” he added.

While Mbappe received some praise for his self-criticism and accountability, Petit attacked him on RMC media in France, saying: “For me, he is not a good captain after the signals he sent after taking the position.” [which was] almost coercive.”

“The statements towards his teammates, for example, when he said that the good balls don’t reach him, that he doesn’t want [Paul] Pogba in his team, or that [Antoine] Griezmann wasn’t performing well in the Euros… is that really the role of a captain to point out the failures of his teammates?

“And then, excuse me, all this fuss about the mask after breaking his nose. Who cares! He’s not the first player to play with a broken nose, and he won’t be the last,” Petit continued angrily.

He had numerous demands before accepting the captain’s armband, but to me, he didn’t display leadership qualities, either on or off the field. I never saw him

Petit further noted, “When you play one out of two matches with Paris Saint-Germain in the last six months [of the season], you have plenty of time to prepare physically. I recall him mentioning before the European Championship that he prioritizes his mental resilience over physical fitness.

Petit wrapped up by stating, “He failed on every front—physically, he fell short, and as a captain, he didn’t measure up. In my opinion, he was not deserving of the captaincy.”

Now that the Euros are over, Mbappe will be presented as Real Madrid’s latest player at the Bernabeu on July 16.