In his first appearance at a press conference since June 15 ahead of France’s soccer match against the microstate of Gibraltar, he also decided to comment on the winner of the Ballon d’Or and his future at Paris Saint Germain with the 24-year-old being linked to moves to the Middle East and Real Madrid.

Foremost, was the chances of Mbappe becoming an Olympic gold medal winner next summer with France as soccer is a category of the festival of sports and athletics. The young forward, regarded as one of the best in the world, would be a significant boost to France’s odds of winning but he insisted it’s out of his hands.

“It is my employer who decides,” Mbappe said of his chances of playing at the 2024 Olympics. “It will be a pleasure to play in them, but if my employer doesn’t want to, I will support his decision. I don’t think it will take a long time to think about it.

“If it’s yes, it’s yes. If it’s no, it’s no. I want to play. I want to play, and I think people do too.”

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It’s perhaps interesting that the striker chose to use the word “employer” instead of referring to PSG or a member of his current club as the contract deadlock between the pair rages on.

Mbappe has been on the cusp of departing from the French champions for a couple of years now, often being heavily linked to Florentino Perez‘s Real Madrid and he almost accepted one of the biggest deals in history to join Saudi Arabia in 2023.

But he made sure to play down rumors and remain distanced from the discussion of his future.

“This is not news for the French national team,” Mbappe sternly said. “If you have this question, you have to come to the PSG Campus and I will answer it. The country first and foremost.

“It’s not something that weighs on me, I don’t think about it on the pitch. When I’m on the pitch, I don’t get involved in things that are outside.”

Mbappe and the Ballon d’Or

Lionel Messi‘s status as the 2023 winner of the Ballon d’Or was essentially sealed when he captained Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory by scoring twice and basically completed his career. He did it against Mbappe and France, who scored a hattrick in the final and his penalty in the shootout.

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However, many believe it was contentious with Erling Haaland‘s impressive debut season at Manchester City putting him into the conversation with the now-eight-time Ballon d’Or winner. Mbappe himself falls into the former category.

“I am not someone who is afraid to speak,” Mbappe added. “Messi deserves it. The night of the World Cup final, I already knew that he had won the Ballon d’Or.”