Sports

Mourinho Defends Mbappé Amid Criticism Over Recovery Location

By AFP

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho dismissed criticism of striker Kylian Mbappé as “ridiculous” during a press conference on Friday, ahead of the club’s La Liga home match against Villarreal. The French captain has been criticised for choosing to recover from a left knee hyperextension sustained in a Nations League match against Turkey on September 25 by spending time in France and Switzerland rather than in Madrid. Images of Mbappé at a Parisian nightclub entrance and on a bicycle in Switzerland have fueled the backlash, with some fans suggesting he was deliberately snubbing Mourinho, who had recently warned players against skiing or riding bicycles to avoid injury.

Mourinho said, “Are these criticisms over the top? They are ridiculous.” He added that all players required to be present daily for recovery were in Madrid, and that Mbappé had undergone scans and then consulted a specialist in France because of his knee history. The coach also explained that the nightclub visit was for a private Fashion Week event and that the bicycle ride was in a hotel complex where guests can use bicycles to reach communal areas, not a competitive Tour of Switzerland.

Mbappé returned to training on Wednesday and could play as early as Saturday. Mourinho maintained that the player has fulfilled his obligations to Real Madrid and that the club’s recent loss to Atletico Madrid left them six points behind rivals Barcelona.

This is not the first time Mbappé has faced fan criticism this season. A Real Madrid supporters group, Ultras Sur, banned from the Santiago Bernabéu, protested last month after Mbappé, Vinicius Jr and Ibrahima Konaté wore T‑shirts with the message “We are all Ceutans” before a match, a gesture meant to support people in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta amid a migration crisis. Earlier in the season, an online “Mbappé Out” campaign was launched over his choice of recovery location for a previous injury.