Real Madrid News
French President interferes in Madrid’s decision about Mbappe and the Olympics – report
Real Madrid will be one of the busiest clubs during the summer as they plan to bring in a handful of superstars to the team during the transfer window.
Kylian Mbappe, of course, is the priority, with his departure from PSG pretty much as good as official at this point. He is expected to join Madrid on a Bosman move, pocketing hundreds of millions as signing fee.
In the background, however, Mbappe is also a subject of drama with the French National Team.
The player wants to participate in the Olympics this year, which will be held in his home town in Paris, but it seems will not get the clearance from Real Madrid, who do not want their players at the competition due to risk of injury.
There may be a bigger party at play here, though.
Emmanuel Macron expecting Mbappe in Paris
Emmanuel Macron, President of France, reportedly spoke to Mbappe during a gala dinner recently, but it seems did not try to interfere with his move away from Paris, unlike the last few times.
However, if reports from Mundo Deportivo are to be believed, Macron wants Mbappe to play the Olympics with the French National Team.
Several other influential personalities from politics and sports have demanded the request of the player during the prestigious sporting tournament, which is being held in Paris for the third time, and the first since 1924.
Thierry Henry hoping to convince Madrid
Thierry Henry has taken the responsibility for the French Olympic Football Team, and has gone on record to plead his case as the coach in favour of Kylian Mbappe joining them for the competition.
“We know that Real Madrid is an institution. You have to stay in your place, send an email to find out if you can have an appointment according to the rules of the art,” he had said in March.
“We will try to ask for an appointment with Real Madrid. We can’t stop at a ‘no’. But if the ‘no’ remains a ‘no’, I don’t have the cards in hand to do something,” he added.
For now, Mbappe has suggested that he will fall in line with whatever the authoritative club – in this case likely Real Madrid – tell him to do, but it seems the final decision could come down to the Euros and how France performs during that.
With the international break done and dusted, Real Madrid will be back in action this weekend in La Liga, where they will be looking to catch up to league leaders FC Barcelona.
Coming up for Jose Mourinho & co., who lost their last game before the international break, will be a home game against Villarreal on Saturday.
And, leading up to the game, the Spanish capital club have received welcome news on the injury front.
Mbappe back in group training
Indeed, as per MARCA, Kylian Mbappe will be available for Real Madrid’s match against Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
Having been training individually so far this week, the France captain rejoined group training under Mourinho today, taking a concrete step forward towards making himself available for the game.
The forward looked relaxed and ready to work, putting his boots back on and joining the group as Real Madrid prepare for a demanding run of fixtures throughout October.
And, unless there is any unforeseen setback, everything suggests that Mbappe will be ready to start against the Yellow Submarine come Saturday.
Under scrutiny
The past few weeks have been nothing short of eventful for Mbappe, with his every action and movement under heavy scrutiny.
Playing for France, in Zinedine Zidane’s managerial debut, the 27-year-old superstar scored a goal before asking for a substitution due to a knee injury.
Having flown back to Madrid, he underwent tests, which confirmed the injury, although it was not as serious as was initially feared.
The forward then took week-long holiday with his partner that sparked some debate among supporters and attracted criticism from multiple quarters.
Mbappe returned to Madrid on Monday and participated in individual sessions at Valdebebas over the past couple of days. Now he has resumed normal training with his teammates.
There had been doubts over whether Mbappe would be able to face Villarreal after he picked up the injury on 25 September.
However, the recovery plan followed by the forward appears to have worked, and he is now expected to be in a fully fit condition for Saturday’s match.
