Sanction against OM, Mature Mbappé Understands: “I Screwed Up”

Kylian Mbappé reflected on a youthful mistake with PSG in 2018, just before the Clasico against Marseille.

It was a major controversy during the 2018 Clasico between Marseille and PSG. Kylian Mbappé and Adrien Rabiot were absent from the starting lineup for “disciplinary” reasons in the match against Marseille. Thomas Tuchel, the coach at the time, had punished both players for a slight delay attributed to watching the end of the Barcelona vs. Real Madrid match a few hours earlier.

“A great team relies on leaders. I think I can assume that role, and I did it today,” he remarked after the match in 2018.

Five years later, Mbappé has matured and looks back on that episode. “Why a special match? I screwed up (laughs)! I arrived late to the team talk. I was watching another match. That’s it, punishment, you pay for it. I came in a little after the break. When you come in, you’re eager for revenge. Moreover, it’s a match that everyone watches, a match that, as a player, you love to play. And when you watch from the sidelines, it hurts.”

“But in the end, I come in, I score right away. I was hungry. Thinking about the next Clasico? You think about it because it’s a new opportunity to make history, to leave your mark on the Clasicos, to burn it into memory. These are matches that everyone watches. And it’s always a pleasure to go there and win. I hope we will go there and win again.”