Mourinho Calls Mbappe Criticism ‘Ridiculous’ 

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has defended Kylian Mbappe over his activities during the international break, describing criticism of the France captain as “ridiculous.”

Mbappe withdrew from international duty after picking up an injury against Turkey on 25 September. He later shared images on social media at a Paris Fashion Week event and also riding a bicycle — something Mourinho had previously said was against his rules.

“When it comes to Real Madrid, it’s always different,” Mourinho said. “But all the players did exactly what they were supposed to during the break. And then you always want to look for more problems and issues.

“What I can promise is when a Real Madrid player doesn’t behave the way a Real Madrid player is supposed to and when he fails at that and he stops being a Real Madrid player for 24 hours, you will not see that player on the bench because he will be at home.”

Mourinho said an image of Mbappe riding a bike in Switzerland had been misrepresented, saying bicycles were available for guests at his hotel complex to use for short journeys.

Asked whether coverage of Mbappe had been exaggerated, Mourinho added: “Exaggerated, no — I think it was ridiculous.”

“If Mbappe plays tomorrow, it’s because he hasn’t failed Real Madrid and he hasn’t failed to fulfil his obligations to the club,” he said.

Real Madrid are six points behind leaders Barcelona in the La Liga table after seven games.

Mbappe, 27, is one of the favourites to win this year’s Ballon d’Or. He scored 42 goals in 44 games for his club last season but they did not win any trophies. He won the World Cup Golden Boot with 10 goals, taking his career tally at World Cups to a record 22, although France finished fourth.