by After moving to Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé believes he won’t be able to represent France in the Olympic soccer competition in Paris.
In addition to leading France at the European Championship, Mbappé may spend nearly the whole off-season competing in the Olympics before making his much-anticipated Madrid debut.
On July 24, France will play the United States in their first Olympic men’s tournament match, ten days after the European Championship final. August 9 is the day of the Olympic gold medal game.
“My club has a very clear position for the Olympics,” Mbappé stated on Sunday, one day before France’s opening European Championship match against Austria on Monday (3 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). “I think that I will not take part in the Games.” Mbappé went on to say that he plans to watch every game and cheer on the French team.
Clubs are under no obligation to allow their players to compete in the men’s Olympic games, in contrast to the majority of international competitions such as the World Cup, European Championship, and Copa América.
Early in June, Thierry Henry, the coach of the French Olympic team, kept Mbappé out of his preliminary roster, although he expressed hope that things might change before the deadline for naming his final squad.
