Kylian Mbappe has seen his popularity soar after his heroics for France at the FIFA World Cup, after which a lot of young fans have wanted to meet him. The Frenchman seems to be pretty good at interacting with children, as he loves to give them some expertise as well as sign souvenirs for them time and again.
Even though there is newfound uncertainty over Mbappe’s future at PSG again, he’s reportedly told them about his intentions of not extending his contract beyond 2024. This has claimed to have infuriated the decision-makers at the club, who have warned him to either sign a new deal or be sold in the summer.
Mbappe linked with Real Madrid again
Fortunately for the Frenchman, the second option is actually kind of a win-win situation for him. This is especially considering his apparent desire to join Real Madrid, a club he has been admiring since his childhood. Fortunately for him, Los Blancos have newfound interest to sign him as a potential replacement for Karim Benzema – who left for Saudi Arabia club Al-Ittihad.
As the script around his possible move to the Santiago Bernabeu unravels, Mbappe is currently staying as patient as possible. He’s already dismissed links about wanting to push for an exit from PSG, stating that he’s happy to stay with them next season but will not be signing a new contract that extends his stay beyond that.
The 24-year-old is currently a part of the France national team that will take part in two UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers over the next week after the end of the domestic season. Les Bleues will aim to kick-start the qualification campaign in an emphatic fashion, with Mbappe treating the upcoming games against Gibraltar and Greece as opportunities to add to his international goals total.
Why Did the Kid Have to Remove His Barcelona Cap for Photo Op with Kylian Mbappe?
Mbappe, who was named as the new France national team captain after the World Cup, now has new responsibilities to act like a leader and participate in more interactions with the fans. The PSG star held one such interaction at the end of his side’s training session recently, where a number of young kids were invited to the training pitch to take pictures with the French players.
The French captain was more than happy to click snaps with the young children and make their day, but one particularly amusing thing happened when a child wearing an FC Barcelona cap entered the fray. The kid was made to remove his cap before taking the picture with Mbappe, something which seemingly amused the PSG man himself.
Mbappe found the entire thing to be very funny and started laughing uncontrollably before being able to compose himself and carry on with the interactions with the young fans. While there is no real confirmation of why the kid was told to take off his cap, it could also be so that he could blend in with the rest of the child and look more ‘natural’ in the pictures.
Real Madrid fans approve
Real Madrid supporters, however, believe that there is something more to it. There is a sense that Mbappe wanted the kid to take off his Barca cap because of his love for Los Blancos. It is being perceived as a sign that Mbappe doesn’t want to associate himself with the reigning La Liga champions due to the rivalry they share with Los Blancos.
In the past, the 24-year-old forward has admitted him being a Real Madrid fan and that would clearly mean that he is also not that fond of Barcelona either. Mbappe has already tormented Barca multiple times in the UEFA Champions League over the last few years, which has helped in improving his popularity within the Real Madrid fanbase.
Mbappe keeps on teasing a potential future move to the Santiago Bernabeu with antics such as these, which are actually being received pretty well by the Madrid faithful too. It definitely hasn’t gone down well with the Barcelona fanbase, but the PSG star is unlikely to really care about that.
After he’s done with the upcoming international matches, Mbappe could be involved in some really interesting weeks ahead. It remains to be seen if Real Madrid really pushes strongly to secure his signing and is able to get PSG to give the France captain his dream move to lead the line for Los Blancos next season.