A strong response from Mbappe to Emiliano Martinez’s insult to him in the presence of Messi in Argentina’s World Cup celebrations

Kylian Mbappe responded to the constant abuses of Emiliano Martinez against him after Argentina’s World Cup victory over France.

Martinez, who was Argentina’s penalty shoot-out hero, was insulting Mbappe after the Qatar match, which saw the Aston Villa goalkeeper hold a small doll with the face of the Paris Saint-Germain star during an open bus show in Buenos Aires last week.

To make matters worse, Martinez held an effigy of Mbappe aloft while standing next to his PSG teammate Lionel Messi.

This came despite the 30-year-old being seen as one of the first people to comfort Mbappe after France’s bruising defeat.

And while talk of the pair’s rivalry sparked much discussion in the aftermath of the World Cup, Mbappe shrugged off Martinez’s actions by claiming it did not bother him.

“The celebrations are not my problem,” Mbappe told reporters, when asked about Martinez’s behavior after Paris Saint-Germain’s 2-1 victory over Strasbourg.

He added, “I don’t waste any energy on such trivial things. What is important for me is to do my best for my team, and we are looking forward to Leo (Messi) returning to continue scoring and winning matches.”

And Mbappe continued: “I spoke to him (Messi) after the (World Cup) match and congratulated him. It was a goal in life for him, for me too, but I failed, so you should always remain a good athlete.”

He continued, “Personally, I will not get over it (losing the final). But my team (Paris Saint-Germain) is not responsible for this failure of our national team, (therefore) I tried to return with as much positive energy as possible.

After the final in Qatar, both Martinez and Mbappe were all smiles when they were photographed together as Golden Glove and Golden Boot winners – alongside Ballon d’Or winner Messi and young player of the tournament Enzo Fernandez.

But since the duo left Lusail Stadium, Martinez has been mocking the French star at the World Cup celebrations.

Most likely it has to do with the PSG striker’s comments six months before the tournament. As Mbappe said: “The advantage we have in Europe is that we play with ourselves in high-level matches all the time, such as the Nations League.”

Mbappe added at the time: “When we reach the World Cup finals, we will be ready, as Brazil and Argentina do not have this level in South America. Football is not as advanced as in Europe. That is why in the last World Cups, the Europeans always win.”

Martinez responded to the allegations before the final, saying: “He said the South American level is lower than the European level because he didn’t play there.
If you don’t have experience with something, it’s hard to judge him, but what he said is not wrong. They know we are a world class team and they respect us for that.

The Argentine goalkeeper – who started dancing when Real Madrid star Aurelien Choameni missed a penalty – also made an obscene gesture as he was awarded the Golden Glove.

He was filmed making a rude gesture with the award while holding it on his private parts.

Martinez has since explained that he did it because the French fans were booing him during Argentina’s thrilling victory in the final.

Source: Daily Mail