France began their UEFA Nations League campaign with a loss to Italy but rebounded with a 2-0 win over Belgium at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.
Kylian Mbappe, who was supposed to be the focal point of the French attack was overshadowed by the brilliant performance of his ex-teammate at PSG, Ousmane Dembele.
Although his on-the field performances have left a lot to be desired, the video in question that has been doing the rounds on social media will definitely earn the admiration of football lovers.
In the clip, he is seen engaged in a deep conversation with one of the greatest playmakers of this generation, Kevin De Bruyne, at full time.
As they walked, De Bruyne accidentally dropped the water bottle he was holding. Mbappe quickly knelt down, retrieved it, and handed it back to him.
The little mark of respect from the Real Madrid number 9 is definitely worth a lot of praise, especially when one considers the general perception of the French captain being a person with an ego and someone who exudes a sense of arrogance.
When surrounded by star players, Mbappe has often found it challenging to foster harmonious relationships. A case in point was his inability to gel well with Neymar and Messi, when the three of them played together for PSG.
Wayne Rooney’s criticism of Mbappé’s behavior towards Messi in 20222 further highlights these tensions –
A 22-23 year old player throwing a shoulder at Messi… I have never seen a bigger ego than this in my life. Someone remind Mbappe that at 22 years old, Messi had four Ballon d’Ors.
Safe to say this little footage of his moment with De Bruyne would definitely do him a world of good in fixing his rather notorious image.