As reported by local media, Mbappé, who travelled with former PSG teammate Nordi Mukiele, went to a restaurant called ‘Chez Jolie’ before going to a nightclub called ‘V’ later the same evening, on 10th October. It was on this night that the alleged events transpired. 

The alleged rape happened in the hotel in which the Frenchman was staying. The report from Aftonbladet in Sweden did not mention Mbappé as being a subject of the police’s investigation, unlike a later report from Expressen, which stated the contrary. Confirming the enquiry, the Swedish prosecutor did not mention Mbappé’s name, however, as per RMC Sport, the player’s entourage are now “certain” that he is a suspect in the investigation.

‘The physical drop-off that he has had at 25, I have never seen that’ – Molina on Mbappé

This affair comes just months after Mbappé secured his dream move to Real Madrid. It is a move that has long since been in the works. After a difficult start to life at the Bernabeu, he has started to find his rhythm; he now has seven goals in his first 11 games. 

However, Molina, in an interview with Colinterview, is now reporting that Los Blancos regret signing the France captain. “They regret bringing him in. I guarantee that. I have spoken about it on off [the record]. It hasn’t been at all what they were expecting. It was a whim of [Florentino] Perez. It was only Perez that wanted him,” said Molina. 

He added, “[Perez] has always liked the big players. He also has a filial relationship with him (Mbappé) […] the club are gutted, firstly with his level (performances), which is not at all at the expected levels, in the dressing room it isn’t great, that isn’t necessarily Mbappé’s fault though. I think Real have made a big mistake. He didn’t have a pre-season, he played instantly, unlike [Jude] Bellingham. When you see how [Mbappé] is physically at 25, you can’t explain it to me. The physical drop-off that he has had at 25, I have never seen that.”

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Millot joined VfB Stuttgart for a meagre fee of under €2m from formative club Monaco back in 2021. He has since gone on to make 79 appearances for the Bundesliga side, and this season, he already has five goals to his name in just nine games. That form could see him rewarded with his first France cap next month. 

Within that context, Millot’s reported release clause is a relative bargain. As reported by Sky Germany, he has a release clause, valid this summer, worth between €18-20m. His current deal with the German club runs until 2028, and whilst a key player, that low release clause is likely to garner some considerable interest.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

A 2018 World Cup winner with France, Kimpembe missed the entire 2023-24 campaign after undergoing surgery to repair his Achilles, after featuring in just 11 Ligue 1 fixtures for Les Parisiens during the 2022-23 season.

Kimpembe’s Achilles rupture came just two weeks after returning from a hamstring strain which kept him sidelined for three months.

He underwent his Achilles operation in March 2023, and then another one midway through last season. But he suffered a further setback in August of this year as he experienced muscle discomfort in his left leg.

It has been a lengthy recovery process for Kimpembe, who has worked on muscle strengthening while doing support exercises and physiotherapy.

While he didn’t participate in the entire training session, his presence is an encouraging sign for a side that have won just one of their previous three matches across all competitions.

A timetable for his return is yet to be defined, but he is on the list of players eligible to feature for PSG in the UEFA Champions League.

Over the past two years, he has struggled to stay fit, missing out on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar because of an injury and being replaced by Axel Disasi.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre

French players make up 20% of the nominees in this year’s shortlist. There are two Paris Saint-Germain players in the form of Warren Zaire-Emery and Désiré Doué, who made a summer move to PSG from Stade Rennais. There is another former Rennais on the list in the form of Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel. 

Ligue 1 well represented in Golden Boy list

There are also two French players from the Premier League: Wilson Odobert, who completed a summer move from Burnley to Tottenham Hotspur, and Leny Yoro, whose arrival at Manchester United following his move from formative club Lille OSC has been disrupted by injury. Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham is the current holder of the prestigious award.

Ligue 1 is also well represented in the awards. As well as the aforementioned Zaire-Emery and Doué, PSG’s Joao Neves, a summer signing from Benfica, is also in the list. He is also joined by AS Monaco’s Moroccan international Eliesse Ben Seghir. 

Golden Boy full list

• Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
• Joao Neves (PSG)
• Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG)
• Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United)
• Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona)
• Savio (Manchester City)
• Rico Lewis (Manchester City)
• Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich)
• Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United)
• Jorrel Hato (Ajax)
• Leny Yoro (Manchester United)
• Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (Borussia Dortmund)
• Kenan Yildiz (Juventus)
• Christian Mosquera (Valencia)
• Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
• Arda Guler (Real Madrid)
• Mathys Tel (Bayern Munich)
• Désiré Doué (PSG)
• Oscar Gloukh (RB Salzburg)
• Samuel Omorodion (Porto)
• Wilson Odobert (Tottenham Hotspur)
• Andreas Schjelderup (Benfica)
• Endrick (Real Madrid)
• Eliesse Ben Seghir (Monaco)
• Samuel Mbangula (Juventus)

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Deschamps has already begun refreshing his midfield, through the inclusions of AS Roma’s Manu Koné and Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise. Without a club until recently, Adrien Rabiot and N’Golo Kanté, suffering from a minor injury at the time of the announcement of the squad for the October international break, have been the ones to miss out, whilst Antoine Griezmann has since retired from international football. 

Whilst Rabiot’s move to Olympique de Marseille may see him re-integrated into the set-up, Kanté is expected to miss out once again next month, as per L’Équipe. The former Chelsea and Leicester City midfielder is set to remain in Saudi Arabia as Deschamps wants to continue experimenting in midfield, especially with qualification for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Nations League within touching distance. 

Kanté’s omission could come to the benefit of Millot, recently elected captain of the France U21 side. The Stuttgart midfielder is touted for a November call-up.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

As reported by local media, Mbappé, who travelled with former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Nordi Mukiele, went to a restaurant called ‘Chez Jolie’ before going to a nightclub called ‘V’ later the same evening, on 10th October. In the wake of that trip, Mbappé has found himself the subject of rape accusations from Swedish media.

The alleged rape happened in the hotel in which the Frenchman 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 later report from Expressen, 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 initially denounced the report from Aftonbladet as “FAKE NEWS” whilst his legal representatives went on national television in France on Tuesday night to defend their client. “He’s done nothing wrong,” his lawyer, Canu Bernard, told TF1.

As per RMC Sport, Mbappé’s entourage are, however, now “certain” that the Real Madrid forward is a suspect in the case. Le Parisien have now revealed that Mbappé did have a sexual relationship with a woman whilst in Stockholm, which he believes to have been consensual.

The former PSG forward possesses text messages from the woman, since their encounter in the hotel in Stockholm. Those exchanges since their intimate relationship have been described by the media as “positive”, and Mbappé is therefore convinced that this woman is not the plaintiff in the ongoing investigation. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Pogba spoke to a whole host of media in La Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy, L’Équipe and RMC Sport in France, and with a host of anglophone media, including Sky Sports and ESPN. He evoked a wide range of topics, from his time out of the game, his return, and his future for club and country. 

Former Manchester United midfielder considered retirement

He told RMC Sport that, at periods of his time in the wilderness, he considered retirement from the game. “It came into my mind (retirement). I was in a period where it was all vague. You didn’t even know what would happen tomorrow. You’re just waiting […] it was like that for a year. It was very, very hard to manage. Those were the times when you asked: ‘When will it stop?'” said Pogba. 

The France international told L’Équipe has matured a lot during his suspension. “[During my suspension] I aged 10 years. I saw what life really was. It changes [you]. You no longer see things the same. You no longer get the same messages, the same calls.” 

He added that his faith helped him through. “The hardest thing was understanding why it was happening to me. If you don’t have faith, it is hard because you’re asking yourself when will it end. When you have faith, you continue to believe in something that you cannot see. That helped keep me upright,” said Pogba.

However, returning from his time in the cold, he has now promised to return a different player. “For sure, it’s going to be a new Pogba,” he began, in an interview with ESPN. “That is for sure and in a positive way too: with more hunger and more determination. I feel like a kid who just wants to be a professional again, who never turned professional. The anger that I have is what drives me. I will do everything to come back at the level that I was at before and even better, why not.”

A vague future at club level

The question of Pogba’s future is a pertinent one. He is still under contract at Juventus, however, there have been reports of talks of a mutual termination. Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, he revealed a desire to remain at the Serie A side, even if it means taking a paycut on his current deal, which runs until 2026.

“I am currently a Juve player and that is all that I am thinking about today […] I am willing to take a salary cut to stay at Juventus,” he said, before unequivocally ruling out a move to Italian rivals AC Milan. 

Pogba laughed off links to a move to Olympique de Marseille, first drawn by former teammate Patrice Evra. “There have always been rumours linking me to PSG, Real Madrid; it’s nothing new. I am always professional and I respect the club with which I am under contract,” he said. The Frenchman added that he is yet to speak with new manager Thiago Motta, alluding to legal restraints preventing him from doing so, however, he hopes to speak to the Italian soon, he said.

Pogba targets France return

Wherever he plays, he is looking to make a return to the France set-up. As he told L’Équipe, Les Bleus manager Didier Deschamps is one of the people who helped him through his suspension. “Deschamps was one of the ones that helped me during this period. There are others, like Didier Drogba. I spoke with Zlatan Ibrahimovic too, and Cristiano Ronaldo.” he said. 

He will now be hoping that Deschamps, who has frequently publically defended Pogba, will hand him a recall. “It is an objective (a France return). You have to be ready for that. I have to and I will do everything possible to come back, but you have to deserve your place!” 

Whilst his club future remains unclear, what is clear is his determination to return with a bang and re-establish himself at the forefront of the game, both for club and country. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

After featuring in the international break in September, he earned his third cap for Les Bleus in a 4-1 UEFA Nations League victory over Israel earlier this month. However, Olise struggled throughout. Initially, as a No.10 and then out on the right, he was wasteful with the ball, lacking physicality and lucidity in his decision-making, losing the ball on 22 occasions. Touted as the potential successor to the recently retired Antoine Griezmann, a heavy burden in itself, he did little to vanquish the memory of the Atletico Madrid forward. 

That performance came in from criticism from Didier Deschamps. “He didn’t have his best match. He knows it too as well, potentially. He can do a lot of things but there were lots of technical errors. There are expectations there. He has faced them before,” said the France manager. 

However, speaking on RMC Sport show After Foot, France U21 manager Gérald Baticle, who was assistant to Thierry Henry over the summer, has backed Olise to thrive for France. “Perhaps the last match was a little below [his usual level]. But he is still a young player, who needs to string together the matches and adapt in Germany and who now also needs to adapt to the [France] first-team,” began Baticle. 

He added, “With the talent that I have seen, the professionalism that he has… I always attribute importance to these things. Michael has both. He will be back and he’ll perform.”

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Ahead of his return, there has been a lot of talk about where Pogba will play come March. As reported by Fabrizio Romano, it has looked likely that Pogba will leave Juventus, despite the France international’s contract running until 2026. The journalist understands that the two parties have been in talks over a contract termination. 

The former Manchester United midfielder has been linked with a move to the MLS, whilst, speaking to L’Équipe, he also opened the door to a move to Ligue 1. “I am at a club so I have just been thinking about coming back so far, about getting out of this situation. Playing in France? Why not? You don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Why not play in Ligue 1, I wouldn’t be obliged to say no.” 

However, it seems that a new possibility has now arisen. Pogba has said that he is yet to speak with new manager Thiago Motta, but he is open to remaining with the Serie A side, to the extent that he is even willing to take a pay cut, as he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I am currently a Juve player and that is all that I am thinking about today […] I am willing to take a salary cut to stay at Juventus,” said the Frenchman. Pogba’s current deal with the Italian club runs until 2026, but it seems he is willing to renegotiate the terms of his current deal in order to ensure his stay in Turin.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Varane would be out for a significant portion of the season and Como had responded by removing the defender from their squad list for the Serie A campaign. The writing was on the wall for the 31-year-old and the recently promoted Italian side would be the final footnote in the Frenchman’s storied career. However, as Varane revealed in an exclusive interview with L’Équipe it was an unexpected resting place for the defender. 

READ MORE >> Raphaël Varane’s retirement serves as cautionary tale amid talk of strikes

“At the start of my last season at Manchester United, I was already telling myself that I would have liked to finish there, to extend the adventure [there] a little further,” Varane stated. “It didn’t happen and the summer was very eventful. I was looking for something special, and that’s how I found Como. With United, I finished with a victory in the FA Cup, but I already knew that the club’s project didn’t suit me.”

“Como was a project that stood out, it wasn’t exotic nor financially [rewarding] but humanly it made sense, and it still does, since I’m going to stay by their side,” the defender continued. “I also wanted to play only once a week. After the preseason, the family was supposed to follow me to Italy, but when I got injured on the 11th of July, I knew right away that it was over. I was sure of myself, because I had anticipated it.” 

Varane had already been winding down his career and in February 2023 the defender had decided to retire from international duty. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland