Kylian Mbappé
Kylian Mbappé, the Real Madrid and France forward, previously said he was ‘surprised’ to learn about the initial reports
A rape investigation launched in connection with Kylian Mbappé’s visit to Stockholm in October has been dropped by Swedish prosecutors.
Marina Chirakova, the lead investigator, announced there was not enough evidence to continue the investigation, which centred on an incident at a hotel.
Swedish prosecutors announced two months ago that rape inquiries has been opened but declined to comment on subsequent local media reports that the France captain was a suspect. The Real Madrid forward was reportedly “astonished” to see his name linked in various media reports of a rape inquiry in Sweden.
In an interview that aired on French TV station Canal Plus, Mbappé said he was “surprised” by the report and he had not been contacted by Swedish authorities. “These are things that come into your life like that, you can’t see them coming,” Mbappé told Canal Plus. “It’s just incomprehension. I don’t think it weighed on me in the sense that I have never considered myself involved.”
However, officials in Stockholm have now confirmed there will be no further investigations in the case. “During the course of the investigation, there has been a designated person suspected on reasonable grounds of rape and two cases of sexual assault, but my assessment is that the evidence is not sufficient to proceed and the investigation is therefore closed,” Ms Chirakova said. “The designated person has not been notified of suspicion of a crime.”
Mbappé visited Stockholm during a break during La Liga campaign. He had been omitted at the same time from the France squad as a precaution after returning from injury. Prosecutors never publicly named the suspect in the investigation. Mbappé’s lawyer, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard, and the player’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comments on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Mbappé had maintained he remained committed to playing for France despite being left out of their last two squads.
The 25-year-old Real Madrid forward has 86 caps for France, helped them win the World Cup in 2018 and scored a hat-trick in the 2022 final defeat by Argentina. He scored in Real’s 3-2 Champions League victory away to Atalanta on Tuesday night.