France captain Kylian Mbappe has expressed his joy at rejoining the national squad ahead of their UEFA Nations League quarter-final first leg against Croatia on Thursday.
“I feel good, I feel happy to be playing football, I feel happy to be here,” Mbappe said in a press conference in Split, marking his return to international duty after a six-month absence.
The 26-year-old forward missed France’s October fixtures due to injury and was rested by coach Didier Deschamps in November as he navigated a challenging start at Real Madrid following his highly anticipated summer transfer.
Now back in the fold, Mbappe is eager to contribute. “Most of the team-mates who are here, we talk pretty much all the time. I go on holiday with some of them. It’s a pleasure to be here,” he said. “The situation may have been unclear to people outside, but it’s always been clear internally.”
The 2018 World Cup winner has faced a turbulent few months, struggling to find peak form at Madrid and being linked to a Swedish investigation last autumn. However, Swedish courts dropped the case in December without any prosecutions.
Reflecting on the challenges of 2024, Mbappe said, “A career is not linear. You have to refocus on what makes you happy and get back to work. If I had to do things differently? I would have played better.”
France will take on Croatia in Split before returning to Paris for the second leg at the Stade de France in three days’ time.
