Football, Euro 2024: With Kylian Mbappe club future secured, France start as favourites

France head into Euro 2024 as quite possibly the standout candidates to lift the trophy but their prospects may to a large extent depend on Kylian Mbappe not being distracted by his club future.

Mbappe’s long goodbye from Paris Saint-Germain and switch to Real Madrid have dominated headlines in France and Spain in recent months.

The 25-year-old’s presence for PSG over the last three months of the season could no longer be taken for granted and he did not look at his sharpest in his final appearances for the French champions.

However, he still scored 44 club goals in the campaign just finished and France coach Didier Deschamps has no doubt that his captain will be firing on all cylinders at the European Championship.

“The context around the France team is different,” Deschamps said last week as his squad started to gather to prepare for the Euros at their Clairefontaine training base deep in the forest an hour outside Paris.

“Kylian has always considered himself to be part of a collective. Obviously he has responsibilities with his club. He also has responsibilities, if not more, with France.”

Mbappe has scored 46 goals in 77 appearances for his country, including an astonishing hat-trick in the memorable final of the 2022 World Cup in...

Read more