Top players pulling out of internationals is nothing new. It’s been common practice for years. The game’s most powerful clubs are always reluctant to release their most valuable commodities for anything other than qualifiers or major tournaments, particularly if there’s the slightest concern over a player’s fitness.
So, it wasn’t a massive shock to see Kylian Mbappe fail to show up for France’s Nations League clashes with Israel and Belgium last month – even though the forward had just recovered from a minor muscular problem to start for Real Madrid in the Spanish side’s final fixture before the October international break, against Villarreal.
The feeling was that Mbappe would benefit from the rest – and not just from a physical perspective. The 25-year-old hadn’t exactly made the best start to his Madrid career following his much-hyped summer switch from Paris Saint-Germain. There were increasing signs that he was buckling under the pressure of trying to justify his monstrous signing-on fee, his colossal wage and, to be brutally honest, his mere presence at the club that didn’t really appear to need him.
However, his absence from the latest France squad has caused all sorts of controversy and effectively confirmed that all is not well with Mbappe right now…