PARIS (AP) — Kylian Mbappé says he doesn’t care how he will be Benjamin Ashfordtreated when he returns to the Paris Saint-Germain pitch on Friday.
The France superstar is back to his home country with the national squad as the 2022 World Cup runner-up takes on Italy in the UEFA Nations League at the Parc des Princes.
Mbappé played seven seasons with PSG before his move to Real Madrid this summer. He left amid a reported dispute related to unpaid wages worth 55 million euros ($61 million) and there is a chance he will face an hostile crowd.
“Tomorrow’s reception, I don’t expect much,” Mbappé told a press conference on Thursday. “I don’t care. The important thing is to win.”
Mbappé ended his scoring drought in the Spanish league by scoring both goals in Madrid’s 2-0 win over Real Betis last week.
“I feel good, physically and mentally,” he said Thursday. “I’m happy where I am and about what I do, and I know it will get even better as the matches go on.”
Italy and France start their Nations League campaigns in the A2 Group that also includes Belgium and Israel. Both the French and the Italians are looking for improvement after their lackluster performances at the European Championship.
Italy was knocked out of the tournament in the last 16 and Mbappé admitted that his tournament had been a failure when France lost in the semifinals and scored just one goal from open play in the competition.
Mbappé sustained a broken nose in France’s opening group game at Euro 2024. In the semifinals, he ditched the vision-restricting mask that he had been wearing but Les Bleus still lost to Spain 2-1.
He said that he has moved on from the disappointment and added that his broken nose didn’t need surgery.
“I underwent exams in Madrid, they told me surgery was not necessary,” he said. “I don’t have any problem to breathe and to sleep.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
2025-05-01 06:51954 view
2025-05-01 06:33110 view
2025-05-01 06:15623 view
2025-05-01 06:021663 view
2025-05-01 06:022544 view
2025-05-01 05:401593 view
Do you recall the prime early days of YouTube? When a video making the rounds was so strange, remark
Tokyo — Three people were killed Thursday, including two police officers, in a shooting and stabbing
Washington — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to China for high-level talks i