This morning, on June 10, 2025, in Paris, a hot argument broke out in the French football community when Kylian Mbappé, the Real Madrid star and the captain of the French team, strongly responded to the criticisms of Lilian Thuram, the former famous football player of this country. All this stems from Thuram’s recent comment on a television program, where he thinks that Mbappé is not enough to grow and the quality of deserving to wear the Captain de Les Bleus armband. This declaration is immediately controversial, especially when Mbappé is a symbol of the young French generation.
Without a lot of time, Mbappé spoke a live interview on the social network X at 10:00 am local time. With a confident but no less sharp tone, he said: “I respect the history and contributions of the former players, but the quality of a captain is not only in age or experience, but in what I did on the field.” He cited a series of personal and collective achievements, including the 2018 World Cup championship, the title of Pichichi in Liga last season, and the role of France leading to the semi-finals of Euro 2024. In particular, Mbappé stressed that he scored 12 goals in the last 14 games for the national team, an impressive figure to reveal his capacity.
The highlight of this reaction is when Mbappé mentioned Marcus Thuram, the son of Lilian Thuram and his current teammate in the French team. “I am not only a nominal captain, I supported Marcus and other young teammates in difficult times. Ask Marcus what he felt when I helped him mark the decision in the match against Belgium,” said Mbappé, accompanied by a difficult smile. This word targets not only Lilian but also as a blow directly in Marcus, who once was silent for the opinion of his father.
The reaction of the online community and the French media was exciting. Many supporters of Mbappé, saying that he has proven the value by action, not just words. However, other opinions have supported Lilian’s opinions, saying that a captain needs a mental mentality, that Mbappé – although talented – is always missing. The next friendly match in France against Brazil on June 14, 2025 at Stade de France should be the place where Mbappé proves its leadership capacity, especially when the pressure of this incident increases.
Currently, Lilian and Marcus Thuram have not made official comments, but the tense atmosphere of the team becomes the center of attention. With a strong talent and personality, Mbappé seems not only to want to protect his position, but also send a clear message: he is ready to meet all the challenges to lead the French team to the new glory.
