Mbappe: I was affected by Giroud's complaints

BetOdds Kylian Mbappé France Olivier Giroud European Championship

The striker complained about a lack of service after France beat Bulgaria and his team-mate was disappointed to hear him speak publicly about it

Kylian Mbappe admits he was "affected" by Olivier Giroud's complaints about his France team-mates not passing to him but insists he does not want to turn it into a big issue.

Giroud said after his side beat Bulgaria in a friendly that he was not receiving the ball despite runs into dangerous areas in the box.

The comments were interpreted as a dig at Mbappe and the Paris Saint-Germain star says he would have preferred if Giroud had spoken to him privately instead of airing his grievances to the press.

"I spoke with Olivier Giroud. Everyone knows what happened," Mbappe said at a press conference.

"It is true that I was a little affected by it. But we are not going to make a big deal about it because we are here to represent France, that is the most important thing.

"What he said didn't bother me more than that, I'm a striker and I've had this feeling 365 times in a game.

"I congratulated him in the locker room, he didn't say anything to me and then I heard from the press. He didn't say anything bad. It's more the fact of talking about it publicly, I would have preferred to let him come and be even more vocal in the locker room. But that's not a problem, these are small trifles. The team does not need us to get in the way."

France coach Didier Deschamps says he spoke to the team about the issue and maintains there is no tension.

"That Olivier Giroud, like any striker, says that he does not receive the balls, it is a non-problem," he said in an interview with Telefoot.

"There was no convocation, I discuss it with the whole of the group. Today, whatever we may say, the slightest word leads to interpretation, which can be diverse and varied.

"The most important thing is what happens internally. And internally, there is no problem."

Les Bleus will begin their Euro 2020 campaign with a game against Germany on Tuesday.

They will then face Hungary on June 19 before their final match of Group F against Portugal four days later.

2021-06-13 18:00:04

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