Mbappé brushes aside bizarre Martínez antics

Kylian Mbappé has finally publicly addressed incidents surrounding Argentina’s World Cup celebrations. Winning goalkeeper Emi Martínez bizarrely focused on Mbappé after winning the tournament in Qatar.

Martínez issued a moment of silence for the French star in Argentina’s post-match party. The goalkeeper then carried around a photo of Mbappé’s face attached to a toy doll during the team’s parade in Buenos Aires. This was after Mbappé netted a hat trick and also converted his penalty against Martínez in the epic World Cup Final.

Mbappé won’t waste energy on ‘futile things’ such as Martínez

The Paris Saint-Germain star spoke after his first match back with his club following the tournament. “Celebrations are not my problem,” Mbappé told RMC Sport. “I don’t waste energy on such futile things. The important thing for me is to give the best of myself for my club, and we will wait for Leo [Messi] to come back to continue scoring and winning games.”

While Mbappé is already back in France, Messi is set to return to Paris in the first week of January. Martínez, on the other hand, will reportedly return to England on Thursday. Aston Villa coach Unai Emery has said that he will speak to his keeper regarding the incidents.

No beef between Mbappé and Messi

Mbappé also dispelled rumors that there was a rift between himself and Messi. The two superstars are teammates at PSG, but faced off in the World Cup Final. “I spoke with [Messi] after the match. I congratulated him. It was the quest of a lifetime for him, for me too. But I failed, so you always have to be a good player.”

The French star rescued PSG with a late goal on Wednesday night. Struggling Strasbourg thought they had picked up an unlikely point in Paris, but Mbappé converted a penalty kick five minutes into added time.

The victory extended PSG’s lead at the top of Ligue 1 to eight points. Second-placed Lens host the Parisians on New Year’s Day in a massive matchup in the French league.

PHOTO: IMAGO / Sportimage