Mbappé reveals he considered quitting France after racist abuse
Kylian Mbappé has revealed he seriously considered retiring from international football following France's Euro 2020 exit, citing the racist abuse he suffered after missing a decisive penalty. In a candid interview on the YouTube show *The Bridge* with friends Achraf Hakimi and Malik Bentalha, the France captain detailed the profound personal crisis triggered by the reaction to his saved spot-kick against Switzerland in June 2021.
Mbappé explained that the missed penalty, which sealed France's shock last-16 elimination, was followed by a torrent of racist insults on social media. "I started to receive racist insults, I was called a monkey," Mbappé said. "For me, the French team represented the summit. And yet, these are the same people who place you at the top who can bring you down to the lowest if you don't score. That profoundly changed my relationship with the national team."
The forward, who was a Paris Saint-Germain player at the time, said the experience led him to request a meeting with then-French Football Federation president Noël Le Graët. "I told him I wouldn't play again," Mbappé admitted. "I told myself: 'I play for people who, if I don't score, can think I'm a monkey.' I couldn't continue under those conditions. I thought I would just go back to Paris, where I didn't have this kind of problem." According to Mbappé, Le Graët refused to accept his decision, telling him he could not simply walk away.
Mbappé also addressed his departure from PSG last summer, just months before the club finally won the UEFA Champions League, the trophy he had pursued for seven years in Paris. He insisted he felt no bitterness watching his former teammates lift the trophy. "If I had left earlier and they had won, I think there would have been resentment because I would have told myself: 'I didn't get there,'" he said. "Me, I had reached the end of the book. I did seven years, I did everything. I did quarters, semis, a final... In fact, it no longer made sense for me to continue. When I make the decision to leave, it's because in my book, there are no more pages."
On the subject of his international allegiance, Mbappé, whose father is from Cameroon and mother from Algeria, stated that had he not played for France, he would have chosen to represent Cameroon. "I would say that I would play for Cameroon and I would send Ethan with Algeria," he said, referencing his younger brother. "I grew up more with Cameroonian culture than Algerian culture. I was closer to my Cameroonian family, but I have become much closer to my Algerian family since." He added that he has never visited Algeria but wishes to do so.
The interview provides rare insight into the personal toll of elite football, particularly for a global star like Mbappé, who completed a high-profile free transfer to Real Madrid after his PSG contract expired in 2024. His revelations underscore the intense pressure and scrutiny faced by modern footballers, extending far beyond performances on the pitch. His decision to continue with France has proven pivotal, as he has since captained the side and remains their talismanic figure heading into upcoming tournaments.
