Kylian Mbappe’s stay in Paris Saint-Germain could be a positive outcome for French football, according to Les Bleus coach Didier Deschamps.
World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe is set to move to Real Madrid when his contract expires in June but opted to sign a three-year deal with PSG.
That denied Madrid talisman Karim Benzema the opportunity to connect at the club level with his international team-mate Mbappe, who insisted he was staying at PSG “because the project has changed” and for good reason.
Deschamps will have two attacking players to call for a Nations League campaign, which starts against Denmark next Friday, and the French coach is delighted to see Mbappe stay in Paris.
“It’s his decision. He obviously lives in Ligue 1, it’s a great thing in French football,” he told reporters on Saturday.
“She’s attached to the team, she said, but being a Frenchman, that would be a good thing.
“We can grow by staying. Today the goal of PSG is the same as in all the major clubs, as well as winning the UEFA Champions League. It may take one day to go abroad, but that is not an obligation.
“We will not talk about other times when there was a time compared to France. But today the selection of players is not the same.
“Maybe it’s under an obligation to go abroad to achieve good things.”
There have been reports of a rift between Benzema and Mbappe after the former uploader of a photo of the late rapper Tupac Shakur was considered a secret reference to betrayal.
Benzema has denied the allegations, insisting that he does not feel betrayed by Mbappe and that Deschamps does not consider problems between the two when it comes to international service.
“In terms of my position as a coach, where I have players who live where I know from A to Z what’s going on, what matters is the team,” he added.
“It can lead to misunderstandings. From a situation where we can all come to bad conclusions if they are not really bad … It can turn into misunderstandings, which do not reflect the truth.
“Today and the connected world can go very fast, the little picture is moving fast. Even if I’m not there!”
Christopher Nkunku, Moussa Dembele, and Wissam Ben Yedder will also join Mbappe and Benzema in the French offensive, with Olivier Giroud missing out on the shortlist.
Deschamps says he did not call Giroud because he wanted to give players like Nkunku, Dembele, and Ben Yedder a chance to prove their worth.
“I said that about the attacking players who have to have more time to play,” said Deschamps.
“Olivier Giroud is not with us, it’s just to give Moussa, Christopher, and Wissam, who are always with us, who have the time to play and will not get the chance to play less.
“If possible we will ensure that we include everyone, some will play more than others. Through these four meetings, we will ensure that they are active, strong, and more knowledgeable. It will provide more information about the World Cup final.”
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