Kylian Mbappe reportedly shares a ‘deep hostility’ with former France team-mate Karim Benzema. It is claimed in the French press that Benzema omitted the Real Madrid star from his nominations for the French Footballer of the Year award.
Mbappe ultimately scooped the prize but the fall-out has centred around Benzema’s decision to vote for three other candidates. The veteran striker, who now plays for Al-Ittihad, is said to have nominated Eduardo Camavinga, Bradley Barcola and William Saliba.
Today’s print edition of L’Equipe claims that Benzema’s choices boil down to his personal feelings towards Mbappe. It is claimed that he has a ‘deep hostility’ for the 25-year-old. It is unclear why this is the case.
However, even Mbappe admitted that Arsenal defender Saliba would have been a deserved recipient of the prized gong. “You have to be fair, William Saliba would also have deserved to win this trophy,” Mbappe told France Football, who dish out the award.
It was also notable that former Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante reportedly opted to exclude Mbappe from his nominations. The 33-year-old, who plays alongside Benzema in Saudi Arabia, is said to have voted, in order, for Saliba, Joules Kounde and Camavinga.
Mbappe has endured a tough start to life at Real Madrid following his free transfer switch from Paris Saint-Germain during the summer. He has scored nine La Liga goals but only three of those have come in his last six appearances.
Carlo Ancelotti has struggled to fit his star players into a cohesive system. Mbappe, who is at his best coming in from the left wing, has been forced to play as a centre-forward for much of the campaign.
The France captain missed a crucial penalty in Los Blancos’ 2-0 Champions League defeat against Liverpool last month. He was also poor as Real were thumped 4-0 by Barcelona in the first El Clasico of the campaign.
"He isn't at his best level, but we have to give him time to adapt," Ancelotti said last week. "He can do better and he's working to do that.
"It's not a funeral - we're still fighting in all competitions. We have to be optimistic, keeping in mind the problems we're having and have had. But we have to be optimistic because we have a quality squad. We have not been able to find our best form, but I am convinced we will sooner or later."