Kylian Mbappe admits he was “insanely furious” with Lionel Messi after the 2022 World Cup, whom he had to work with every day at Paris Saint-Germain.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
French frontman bagged a hat-trickAlbiceleste prevailed in penalty shootoutEmotions made club colleagues strongerFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱GettyWHAT HAPPENED?
Current Real Madrid superstar Mbappe did claim a global crown with France in 2018 and was looking to go back-to-back when gracing FIFA’s flagship event for a second time in Qatar. He came agonisingly close to achieving that goal, with a historic hat-trick netted in an epic final showdown.
AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Unfortunately for Mbappe, eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi was lining up on the opposing side. He bagged a brace of his own in a thrilling 3-3 draw, before holding his nerve in a penalty shootout that saw Argentina emerge victorious.
Getty ImagesWHAT MBAPPE SAID
Messi and Mbappe were reunited shortly after that tournament back at PSG, with the latter telling of how emotions quickly calmed in the French capital and brought two iconic forwards closer together: “It’s because it was Messi. You respect Messi; he’s a living legend. But I was insanely furious! On the first day when we got together, we broke the ice. Because you feel a bit apprehensive – after all, we had just fought a battle that everyone saw, and now we found ourselves on the same team.
“We laughed about it. He told me, ‘You’ve already won once; you should’ve let me win too.’ We created memories together from the final. It’s good to know what the guy on the other side thinks. We laughed, and in the end, we had a second half of the season where we got along really well. I think that final actually brought us even closer together in the end.”
WHAT NEXT?
Messi left PSG for MLS side Inter Miami in the summer of 2023, having completed his medal collection in Europe and on the international stage, while Mbappe bid farewell to Parc des Princes when moving to Madrid as a free agent in 2024.
