Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé began his era as France’s captain with Les Bleus coming off a 4-0 victory over the Netherlands on Friday at the Stade de France.
At 24 years old, Mbappé can be the face of the national team for the next decade. Nonetheless, the 2018 FIFA World Cup spoke with Téléfoot and revealed his pride in representing the French people.
“Being captain of your country is always symbolic,” Mbappé told the French media outlet (h/t Canal Supporters). “We represent millions of French people, and now I am, in quotation marks, the representative of the team that represents the country. It’s something great because I think of me as a kid. If we had told little Kylian that he was going to be captain, that would have been something wonderful.
“There are fundamentals that you cannot exclude as a captain. It is to think of the team above all. I don’t want to be a captain who leads. I think we have a lot of important players on the team. The goal is not to close doors to others. Of course, I am the link between the old and the new generation, but there is no pressure in relation to that. I think it will go very well.”
The forward could also be in the running to lead PSG next season as Mbappé has already worn the captain’s armband with Marquinhos dealing with injuries heading into the international break.
However, if changes occur for the 2023-24 season, perhaps naming the French star captain might be the right move. It will let the rest of the squad know that PSG is Mbappé’s team.
The capital club and sporting advisor Luis Campos have a lot of work to do this summer and the captaincy decision shouldn’t be lost on PSG.
