Surprise in the France squad, with coach Didier Deschamps not including the 23 players called up for the Nations League matches away against Israel and Belgium Kylian Mbappe. The same coach then explained: “I spoke to Kylian. He has a problem that isn’t serious. I’m not here to put anyone at risk, that’s why he’s not on the list.”
However, the issue regarding the performance of the Los Blancos striker remains alive in France, where the former Juventus Patrice Evra – during an interview given to the broadcaster RMC Sport – he expressed himself as follows about him: “Too much responsibility for Mbappé from the coach? It’s not Deschamps’ fault, but it was all of France which gave too much responsibility to Mbappé according to me” – his words – “He was given the keys to PSG, the keys to France, but Mbappé is still a young player. It was you who created that legend around Mbappé. With all the respect I have for him, he hasn’t reached Benzema’s level yet.” Regarding the lack of call-up, he then said: “If you call him up and he gets injured, it’s the best way to ruin relations with (Florentino) Pérez. Real Madrid is not PSG, you can’t take that risk.”
On Pogba he then said: “”I was with Paul only three weeks ago. He was very confident. The initial punishment was harsh. They wanted to set an example. Justice has been done. Paul is like a little brother to me, someone I adore. He will return to the field and will be able to train again. I think Paul will not continue with Juventus colours. He needs to move on. I will call Mehdi Benatia (Marseille sporting director, ed.) to make a phone call to Paul, because the doors are open.”