French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that he remained optimistic that national team captain Kylian Mbappe will be able to compete for his country at the forthcoming Paris Olympics.
“I hope he will be able to play at the Olympic Games,” Macron said when asked by pupils during a visit to a school in the French capital.
Mbappe has previously expressed his desire to represent France at the Games. However, that chance was dashed when Real Madrid recently stated that they would not release any of their players to compete in the Olympics.
The 25-year-old World Cup-winning forward is now at Paris Saint-Germain, but he has informed the Ligue 1 club that he plans to depart when his contract expires at the end of the season, with Madrid his likely next destination.
The Olympic football event, which is for Under-23 players with three overage players per squad, does not coincide with FIFA’s international match dates, hence clubs are not required to release their players for the competition.
Mbappe will lead France at the Euro 2024 tournament, which will be held in Germany from June 14 to July 14.
The Olympic football competition began on July 24 and runs through August 9, with France in a group with the United States, New Zealand, and another team yet to be decided.
Macron also declared that if Les Bleus go to the Euro 2024 semi-finals and final, he will travel to Germany.
“I will go if we are in the semi-finals or in the final,” he said, pointing out that the final in Berlin falls on France’s national day, July 14.