The situation
Aurelien Tchouameni will play, in just ten days, his first World Cup and his first major tournament with the French team. The Real Madrid midfielder was included by Didier Deschamps in the 25-man squad for Qatar. In an interview with L’Équipe, the French international acknowledged that Mbappé was interested in his situation, in addition to reviewing the start of the season that he has made in Chamartín.
If Mbappé was interested in his situation : “Above all, he was interested at the end of the season, because he was also on standby (exit to Real Madrid or renewal with PSG). It was a very interesting discussion with Kylian. He wanted to know what she planned to do. I also asked him what he planned to do. During the June training camp, when it was decided that he would stay at PSG, he teased me with “Presko” (Presnel Kimpembe): “Come on, you have to come to PSG too! But my choice was made a long time ago. We laughed about it, but…”
100 million, a lot of money for his signing for Real Madrid? : “No, I don’t feel that pressure. In my head, I think I’m cut out for it. This is my destiny. That means that I have worked, that I have made sure to get here. Now that I’m here, what do I do? I have to earn my place as a starter, I have to perform well, I have to win titles. So I’m not here to stand still or show off in front of a mirror.”
How to manage being in a locker room with so much ego in Madrid: “In the field . We are a group of 26, 30 players, we are not here to be friends, but to respect each other and win. I didn’t come in saying to myself, “Okay, I have to be friends with this one. I’m lucky to have a lot of Francophones in the team (Benzema, Camavinga, Ferland Mendy, Courtois, Hazard), so it’s easier to adapt”.
Casemiro’s departure: “ He had burned a wild card against Almería (2-1, August 14). Just before the next game, during an aperitif, coach Ancelotti came up to me and said something like “this time, you were good, right? I replied, “Yes, don’t worry.” If Case was still here, he wouldn’t play as much. Anyway, in Madrid, if you’re not good, you don’t play. So if I’m playing a lot of games, it means things are going well.”
How is it managed to play the Clásico : “You think about it a week or two beforehand. Also, it was the first with Jules (Koundé, his friend from Bordeaux). I did not talk much with him about friendship, because business, football, is not friendship. We called each other because our hairdresser was going to come here and we didn’t talk about the match”.
The details
And, later, victory 3-1 against Barcelona : “I told him that there is a second leg (March 19, 2023). And if all goes well, we’ll play dozens of Clasicos. So we didn’t argue with Koundé and I, and I didn’t say “Oh, but we’ve beaten you! We’re past our prime, frankly. I have learned to know how to approach the games, to concentrate on my game plan. Now, whether I play at home or in a small stadium, I ignore the noise and the crowd. In Bordeaux, I remember that there was tension between the sports management and the fans. At the end of the game, the players were talking about it in the dressing room, and I had no idea what had happened because I was focused, I couldn’t hear what was being said around me.