Real Madrid have, via RMC Sport, reacted to reports in Sweden that their forward, Kylian Mbappé (25), is the subject of a police investigation following his trip to Stockholm earlier this week.
His trip to Stockholm controversially coincided with Les Bleus’ UEFA Nations League match against Israel on Thursday, which he missed due to recovery from a thigh injury. It was on this night that Mbappé was pictured in Sweden, with local media reporting that he dined at a restaurant before going to a nightclub called ‘V’.
On Monday, reports circulated that an investigation into a suspected rape case had been opened. That suspected rape reportedly happened in the hotel in which Mbappé was staying on 10th October.
The report from Aftonbladet in Sweden did not mention Mbappé as being a subject of the police’s investigation, unlike a report from Expressen later that evening, which stated the contrary. Speaking to the AFP, the Real Madrid forward’s entourage stated that they were unaware that he was the subject of any enquiry. Confirming the enquiry, the Swedish prosecutor did not mention Mbappé’s name.
Mbappé removed from Real Madrid campaign
Prior to the report from Expressen, Mbappé had denounced the piece from Aftonbladet as “FAKE NEWS”. Real Madrid have now come out in support of the France captain. An internal source at the La Liga club said that the Mbappé story was “not a subject at all at Real Madrid”. The source added that the club were “not at all worried” about the outcome of the affair and do not doubt that the information is propaganda, created to damage Mbappé’s reputation.
This message of support came after Mbappé was edited out of a photo from Real Madrid’s latest promotion campaign. The reasons for his removal have not been officially communicated. Reports suggest that his removal had to do with image rights because Nike did not want his presence in an Adidas advert. However, another Nike athlete, Eduardo Camavinga, was present in the shoot and was not removed.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
