French football captain Kylian Mbappé has sparked a heated exchange with Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) party after voicing concerns about its potential victory in next year's presidential election. The 27-year-old striker, who grew up in Paris's northern suburbs with Algerian and Cameroonian heritage, told Vanity Fair: 'I know what it means and what consequences it can have for my country when people like them come to power.'
Bardella's Retort
Jordan Bardella, the 30-year-old president of the anti-immigration RN, which is polling strongly ahead of the spring presidential race, swiftly responded with a dig at Mbappé. The footballer left Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2024 to join Real Madrid, only for PSG to win the Champions League the following year. 'I know what happens when Kylian Mbappé leaves PSG: the club wins the Champions League! (And maybe soon a second time),' Bardella wrote on social media.
Le Pen's Comments
Marine Le Pen told RTL radio on Wednesday that she found it reassuring that Mbappé opposed her party's rise, noting that his strategy of leaving PSG to win at Real Madrid had not paid off. 'Frankly, I think football fans are free enough to know who to vote for without being influenced by Mbappé,' she said.
RN MP's Statement
Julien Odoul, an RN MP and party spokesperson, emphasized that as captain of the French national team, Mbappé must represent all of France, including the millions of RN voters, and should not become a 'political activist.'
Longstanding Feud
Bardella, who could become the RN's presidential candidate this summer if an appeals court upholds Le Pen's ban from running, has a longstanding feud with Mbappé. During France's snap parliamentary election in 2024, Mbappé described the RN's electoral gains as 'catastrophic.' Bardella retorted that it was embarrassing to see wealthy athletes 'give lessons to people who can no longer make ends meet, who no longer feel safe.'
Mbappé's Response
Asked by Vanity Fair about the criticism that he is too rich to discuss politics, Mbappé said: 'Even as a footballer, you're foremost a citizen. We're not disconnected from the world … or from what's happening in our country. People sometimes think that because we have money, because we're famous, these kinds of problems don't affect us.' He added that footballers 'have our say, like everyone.'
Mbappé said the RN's parliamentary gains in 2024 shocked him and other players. 'We're citizens and we can't just sit there saying all will be fine and go and play. We have to fight this idea that a footballer should just be content to play and keep quiet.'
Symbol of Diversity
Mbappé is the face of a national team often celebrated as a symbol of diversity, and many tip France to win this summer's World Cup. He was born in 1998, the year France's World Cup-winning team, starring Zinedine Zidane, was mythologised as 'Black-Blanc-Beur' (Black-White-Arab) and presented by politicians as able to solve the country's deep-seated identity issues through their triumph.
Political Analysis
William Thay, from the thinktank Le Millénaire, told Reuters that Bardella's response was politically shrewd because Mbappé's popularity in France has waned since his PSG exit, with perceived arrogance and underwhelming results at Real Madrid. However, Thay warned that the RN risks undermining its electoral strategy by attacking one of France's biggest sporting stars while doing little to reassure moderates who fear the party seeks to deepen social divisions.
