Kylian Mbappé gave an interview to Camel Live, talking about his new adventure at Real Madrid, while also looking back on his experience of playing with Messi at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo, the reason he rejected Real Madrid to join Monaco at the age of 18, and his current relationship with Vinícius Júnior.
Why he chose to join PSG instead of Real Madrid:
“At that moment, everything was clear. When I left Monaco, my goal was clear—I wanted to play.At Real Madrid back then, there were Benzema, Cristiano and Bale. I didn’t want to sit on the bench. All European clubs told me I would get playing time, but at Real Madrid, I knew I wouldn’t.Of course, Real Madrid was my dream, but being a starter is an honor, and I also had the chance to return to my hometown—Paris. I spent seven incredible years there.The pride of playing in my birthplace is special, and of course, I still dreamed of playing for Real Madrid. But playing in Paris was amazing.”
His experience of playing with Messi:
“When you talk about players who make history, you think of Messi. In the dressing room, he’s just an ordinary, down-to-earth person.When you become famous, many people put labels on you, and if you listen to them, those labels get into your head. But he’s not like that—he’s completely normal and respects everyone.As a player, he’s one of a kind. When you have a player like that in your team, you have to stay close to him and observe every move he makes. He helped me understand the game. I was lucky to play with Messi. I never thought I would play with him in my career before.I thought he would spend the rest of his career at Barcelona, and my dream was to play for Real Madrid. I never thought I would go to Barcelona either.So I only have gratitude for Messi; this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
His three goals in the World Cup Final and that defeat:
“In the Final, you don’t think about scoring—you think about winning. But we’re strikers, so we’re the closest to the goal. It was a crazy match, and Argentina deserved to win because they played better throughout the entire game.We did have some moments where we played better, but overall, their victory was well-deserved. It’s sad, but you shouldn’t forget it, because 2026 is coming, and we don’t want to end up in such a tough situation again.”
