Didier Deschamps is sick of people asking him about Mbappé: "Leave him alone"

Kylian Mbappé is in the eye of the storm both in Madrid, where he is performing below (abnormally high) expectations, as well as France. He is captain of 'les Bleus', helped them win World Cup in 2018, but has since missed the last two call ups. He won't be playing this week for the last Nations League group phase fixtures against Israel and Italy.

Didier Deschamps, France's manager, was visible angry when, in the press conference before today's Nations League game against Israel (8:45 PM CET), he was asked constantly about Mbappé, despite him being completely irrelevant for the matches ahead.

"I told you all I had to say about that. You are free to take whatever you want. Kylian isn't here, leave him alone. There are 23 players here", he complained, before praising today's captain N'Golo Kanté.

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Last week, it was announced that Deschamps had chosen to leave Mbappé out of the call this week, despite him reportedly wanting to go.

A lot has been rumoured about it. Some believe it is a sort of 'punishment' for Mbappé after being mysteriously absent from last month's call-up, and was seen partying in Stockholm while his team was playing. Most people agree that Mbappé is going through a bad period right now. Within the French Football Federation and among his teammates, he is sill being shielded from critics, but his popularity in France has been decreasing since his poor performance at UEFA Euro Cup.