Early Thursday, the X (formerly Twitter) account of French football star Kylian Mbappe was hacked, resulting in a series of controversial tweets that have since been deleted but continue to stir reactions across the platform.
Among the inflammatory posts, one tweet hinted at a possible transfer to Manchester United in 2028, a surprising move considering his recent high-profile transfer to Real Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain. The post also praised a Manchester United fan account, #UTDTrey, calling it the “best account on ft.”
The tweets didn’t stop there. Mbappe appeared to take sides in the long-standing rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, tweeting, “Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest football player of all time. This midget is not my goat,” alongside a photo of Messi in tears after a match against Colombia.
This comment sparked significant backlash, as it was seen as a direct insult to the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, Messi, who led Argentina to victory over Mbappe’s France in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Mbappe’s hacked account also took a swipe at Chelsea, a club he has previously been rumoured to support. In response to an X user suggesting his allegiance to the West London side, Mbappe, or the hacker, tweeted, “Chelsea are washed, g.”
The hacker continued to escalate the controversy, posting politically charged and offensive messages such as “F*** Israel,” “Free Palestine,” “Manchester is red,” and “The Jews own football.”
The authenticity of these tweets was quickly called into question by X users. One user, tweeting as #haiwe_xtm, expressed skepticism, stating, “Seriously hacked account. There’s no way that’s Mbappe bro.”
Another, #GucciStarboi, reinforced this sentiment: “Stop misleading people. Mbappe was clearly hacked.” A third user, #Big_5ve, added, “People with knowledge literally know Mbappe will never tweet something like this.”
Some users found humor in the situation. “Whoever has hacked Kylian Mbappe should be crowned king of the world,” tweeted #fana__0.
Another user, #UTDLenz, humorously analysed the hacker’s apparent preferences, “So the hacker is basically a Man United and Ronaldo fan, pro-Palestine and doesn’t give a d*** about London. I think I’ve liked him even more.”
Amid the chaos, questions were raised about Mbappe’s media management team’s response to the situation. “This is getting out of hand. What is his media team doing?” tweeted #RackiRMA.
Another user, #keyyrun0, noted, “Surprised Mbappe doesn’t have someone around the clock for stuff like this. Poor guy is probably sound asleep right now not knowing what’s going on.”
Despite the off-field drama, Mbappe’s performance on the pitch remains under scrutiny. He made a promising start to his Real Madrid career by scoring in their 2-0 victory over Atlanta in the UEFA Super Cup but has yet to find the net in La Liga, playing in a 1-1 draw with Mallorca and a 3-0 win over Valladolid.
