With his aura and popularity, Kylian Mbappé goes well beyond football. The PSG and France team striker is aware of this, and he has not hesitated, for several years, to address social issues. “I try to act according to my values and my principles”, he detailed to BFM TV in June 2022, wanting to be “the voice of the people we do not hear”. List of his strongest positions.
Two weeks after the assassination of the teacher Samuel Paty who moved France, the start of the All Saints holidays is looming. Many tributes take place. Including Kylian Mbappé.
“The school of the Republic is like a football team, illustrates the striker of the Blues. Teachers are like our coaches. To learn and win, we must always play together. Listen, share, help each other… At school and in the field, LET’S BE UNITED.” The Minister of National Education at the time, Jean-Michel Blanquer, thanked Mbappé “for this message so important on this day of tribute to Samuel Paty”.
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On November 21, 2020 in Paris, music producer Michel Zecler was beaten up by police. The images are shocking. “Unsustainable video. Inadmissible violence”, denounces Mbappé in a tweet which he punctuates as follows: “Stop racism.”
Zecler, a black man, accused the officers of calling him a “dirty nigger” as they beat him. “I find that some have selective dignity”, replied the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, who said “having hurt my France by not hearing any reaction from millionaire footballers about the 98 injured police officers” during demonstrations a few days earlier.
On May 25, 2021, Kylian Mbappé published two photos of him on Instagram in full vaccination against Covid-19. A subtle way to show his support for vaccination against the virus … which he had contracted in September 2020, in the heart of a gathering of the France team.
Accustomed to jokes, in good or bad taste, the “Winamax Sport” account, a sports betting site, tweeted about Wilfrid Mbappé on March 29, 2022. The account published a random photo of a man buttocks in the stands of a football stadium, imagining the reaction of Kylian Mbappé’s father after a goal by the latter against South Africa in a friendly match (5-0 victory).
“The danger of online betting… no longer having a limit. A little respect please,” tackled the world champion. Mbappé has never been a fan of sports betting sites, renowned for their addiction which directly impacts athletes (football, tennis, etc.), victims of insults and threats on social networks. Beyond that, Mbappé is committed to protecting young people, the preferred targets of betting operators.
In the columns of the JDD, in June 2022, the president of the French Football Federation (FFF), Noël Le Graët, speaks of Kylian Mbappé. He confirms the rumor that the child of Bondy “no longer wanted to play in the France team” because “he found that the Federation had not defended him” after his missed shot on goal, which caused the elimination of the Blues by Switzerland at the Euro a year earlier (3-3, 5-4 on penalties).
“Yes finally I explained to him above all well that it was in relation to racism and NO to the penalty. But he considered that there had been no racism … ”, replied Mbappé on Twitter. This is not the only time that the PSG striker will attack the Breton leader.
It was the media storm that precipitated the fall of Le Graët. The former president of the FFF had been questioned about the Zinedine Zidane hypothesis as coach of the Blues. “I wouldn’t even have taken him on the phone,” notably dropped Le Graët with disdain. The world of football and politics was quick to rise up.
“Zidane is France, we don’t disrespect the legend like that …”, commented the one who, like many young French people, idolized “Zizou”. The cascade of reactions prompted Le Graët to apologize for his “clumsy remarks”.
Scorer against Juventus in the semi-final first leg of the Italian Cup (1-1), Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku was the victim of monkey cries during the meeting. “2023 and still the same problems. But we are not going to let you do that, ”warned Mbappé in an Instagram post.
Unfortunately, racism has a hard tooth. A few days later, it was the French defender of Bayern Munich, Dayot Upamecano, who was targeted on social networks after a poor performance against Manchester City in the Champions League. “It’s nonsense, storm Mbappé at the microphone of France 3. People have to stop with that, it’s 2023. I think it’s not enough to denounce it and say that it’s no longer normal. I think we have to act. Something must be done because, stop! After a while… […] We are fed up.”
Last May, Mbappé also showed his support for Vinicius, Real Madrid player, who has been attacked many times this season in Spain because of his skin color. “You are not alone,” wrote the Frenchman on Instagram.
On June 27, 2023, a young man named Nahel was killed by a police officer in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) after refusing to comply. The news, accompanied by a video, brings to the fore the question of police violence, which Mbappé had already mentioned during the attack on Michel Zecler.
“I have pain in my France, reacts the captain of the Blues. An unacceptable situation. All my thoughts go out to the family and loved ones of Nahel, this little angel who left much too soon. Other French footballers, Mike Maignan and Jules Koundé, shared their pain and shock.