The incident of Mbappé making inappropriate remarks has caused quite a stir recently. Some people believe that as a sports student, he probably didn’t read many books in his youth and often says stupid things out of a momentary impulse. There’s no need to make such a big deal out of it, as Chinese netizens keep discussing this topic online day and night.
However, those who say such things neither understand Mbappé nor the political phenomena reflected behind him. Nowadays, there are plenty of athletes with "big mouths" who say all sorts of stupid things; but it's quite rare for someone like him to attract the attention of multiple national authorities and rise to diplomatic level within just two days after an incident occurs.
This is because Mbappé, as a football player, has his rise and fame deeply influenced by political factors. Especially in Europe, where societies are torn apart by issues such as immigration and race, it is intriguing that a black player can become a representative of a country with a predominantly white population and receive special attention from the political sphere over time.
When a person emigrates from their homeland to another country and demonstrates extreme loyalty towards that country, this phenomenon is commonly referred to as "convert fanaticism" on the Chinese internet. However, Mbappe's existence represents a kind of inverse utilization of "convert fanaticism." It is rooted in the original sin of French colonialism in Africa, and is further amplified by the current political chaos.
It must be admitted that Mbappe is indeed a superstar in today's football world. However, in terms of being able to influence the course of a game on his own, he still has a significant gap compared to those superstars who have left their mark in the history of football.
The 2026 Golden Globe Awards were won by British player Harry Kane. Mbappé has not won a Golden Globe Award since his fame began in 2018.
In today's football world, many people offer extraordinary praise to Mbappe, such as "the first person after Messi and Ronaldo" and "the most outstanding player of his generation". However, these praises do not correspond to the real competitive performance he demonstrates on the football field, nor do they match the team honors he can actually earn.
Mbappé truly came into the public spotlight and gained a lot of reputation in 2018, during the Russian World Cup. At that time, he was not yet 20 years old, full of youth, and worked closely with his team's older players such as Griezman, Zidane, and Kante. He played like a skilled chef, helping France to win their second FIFA World Cup trophy in history.
Among them, his outstanding performance in the match against the Argentina team was truly astonishing. At that time, short-video platforms were beginning to emerge, and even today, when you search for highlights from the 2018 World Cup on platforms like Douyin (TikTok), clips of his goals are always at the top of the search results. The media also praised him with golden sentences that will be remembered forever: “At the age of 31, Messi stood there, watching Mbappe, a young boy chasing the wind, charging wildly on the field in Kazan. His eyes were filled with memories of his own 19-year-old self, but his body was no longer able to respond.” The media used these words to praise Mbappe’s amazing performance and proclaimed him to be a potential next-generation soccer king, someone who would become the successor to Messi or Ronaldo.
As Zhang Ailing said, it's better to become famous early. Mbappé, who won a cup and performed brilliantly in the World Cup qualifiers at the age of 19, clearly tasted fame early on. Soon, Paris Saint-Germain, with its wealth and power, brought him into their team. From that moment on, the name Mbappé took on a double meaning.
The first level is Mbappé, playing for a club as a professional player. The second level is Mbappé, representing France as a black athlete. During the World Cup, all eyes in the world were focused on that small green field. Mbappé was noticed, and people marveled at the youngster’s swift movement. They couldn’t help but wonder: perhaps in the future, he will become another young winner of the Ballon d’Or, challenging many of Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo’s dazzling records.
At that time, there was already some discussion regarding the racial composition of the French football team. They realized that although the French team was incredibly strong, it seemed somewhat unfamiliar compared to the French team led by Zidane. Football is not like the NBA, and Europe is not America. After all, America was the destination of the slave trade, naturally having a large black population; while European imperialist countries, although they also colonized Africa, always had an ocean separating their colonies from their metropolises that was difficult to cross. It was only in the past 30 years, with the rise of immigration and various objective factors such as low birth rates in European countries, that the racial composition of European nations became an important issue that cannot be ignored.
Therefore, black Americans appeared on American basketball courts in large numbers as early as the end of the last century and quickly gained acceptance in public opinion. In European colonial powers such as England, France, Spain, and Portugal, although some blacks migrated from their colonies, their proportion in society was not high. Thus, when people discovered in 2018 that the composition of the French football team, a champion team, was quite complex, considering the recent efforts by European countries to defend “political correctness” on issues such as racism, Mbappé—this young player who has a strong impact on matches—became a political symbol, supported by various parties.
France National Team 2018
France National Team 1998
In 2018, after the French team won the World Cup in Russia, Macron presented the Legion of Honour, a symbol of France's highest honor, to all members of the national team at the Élysée Palace. At that time, players like Mbappé couldn't hide their excitement, and some even shed tears on the spot.
This scene undoubtedly has considerable symbolic meaning: a foreign black youth, after hard work and struggle, finally gains recognition from French society. He becomes a symbol of French sports and even society as a whole.
Since then, Mbappe, who suddenly emerged as a star, naturally took advantage of the influence of French football and became part of the globalization of football. A typical example of this is his ability to never lose on the field, yet always appear defeated off the field. Paris Saint-Germain, which had spent years investing money without achieving any Champions League appearances, brought Mbappe into its squad through loan agreements and buyouts before the 2018 World Cup. After the World Cup, they gave this local star enormous attention and praise.
Paris Saint-Germain hopes to become a club with international influence, just like Real Madrid. At the same time, it also wants to be the pride of French football and defend the dignity of its fans. The addition of a rising star like Mbappe during the World Cup is undoubtedly a win-win situation for all parties.
However, PSG's brilliant concept quickly became unmanageable. Mbappe's status as a "French black elite athlete" imposed too much political weight upon him, making him an asset that was difficult to manipulate.
He once had a significant say in the team's decisions, even approaching that of Nasser Al-Jerbi, the executive chairman of Paris Saint-Germain. Therefore, he was nicknamed “The Director” on the internet. The personnel of the team changed drastically during his tenure: the “South American gang” led by Neymar was completely eliminated within a few years, and what remained were Mbappe’s close friends who worked well together in the national team.
Additionally, his elite immigrant temperament, originating from a middle-class family, is also becoming evident. Some praise him for being "worldly-wise" and "smooth," but in most cases, he exhibits an attitude of indifference, where he enjoys power while shirking responsibility. During his time with Paris Saint-Germain, the team's performance in the Champions League did not match the club's substantial investments. When other non-French players faced insults, attacks from local extreme fans, or even their family members were continuously harassed, Mbappé never stepped forward as a team leader to take responsibility for losses, nor did he condemn the aggressors. However, he continued to use various media and political tactics to pressure the club, trying to obtain more rights than what a player should have.
This was particularly evident during his renewal deal with Paris Saint-Germain in 2022. He knew well that the French domestic powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain would not easily let go of this French star player, and the pressure exerted by the club even led to Macron stepping in to try to retain him. In the end, considering both political and economic factors, Mbappé chose to stay at Paris Saint-Germain. The team not only offered him a highly generous salary as promised, but also worked hard to build around him. Over the next two years, they continued to get rid of players who did not fit his style of play, and invested heavily in players they believed would have a good chemistry with him.
However, after two years of cooperation, Paris Saint-Germain and Mbappé still managed to achieve no results in the Champions League. In 2023, the club hired the renowned coach Luis Enrique, who had previously managed Barcelona. In a widely shared video, Luis Enrique earnestly instructed Mbappé: If you want to be an athlete like Michael Jordan, you must learn to defend on the field. Mbappé's response was to sit stiffly in his chair, without moving.
This scenario is almost a condensed portrayal of ‘Director Mu’’s career: when his individual performance on the field conflicts with the team’s desire to win, he chooses to prioritize ensuring his own moments of brilliance. The portrait of a sophisticated egoist is fully revealed at this moment.
After years of protection by French political forces, Mbappé has developed an illusion—an illusion that "his abilities are worthy of everything he possesses." This has made his behavior increasingly willful. Whether on or off the field, it seems that as long as he wears that exquisite suit, whatever he says or does is correct and unquestionable.
He can act according to his temperament, demanding passes from his teammates; he can speak rudely to his teammates, calling them “vagabonds”; he can say he wants to support his team in playing well, but then immediately go on vacation because he doesn’t want to see his teammates beat him in international competitions. He can isolate his teammates by himself, and then attack the club when he needs public support, pretending to regret that the club has driven away his teammates. He can even fight for the captain’s armband in the national team, forcing veteran players to leave the team and no longer communicate with them...
The establishment of such indifferent and selfish personalities is inseparable from the influence of family environment. Alternatively, for middle-class immigrant elites who are eager to integrate into foreign societies and gain social recognition, abandoning human morality and firmly defending refined egoism is an inevitable outcome. Mbappé’s mother once proudly told this story during an interview: At the age of 14, Mbappé was criticized by his coach for never playing defense on the field. As a mother, her first reaction was to criticize the coach for being incompetent, and she demanded that the club replace him with another coach for her son.
Indeed, this sophisticated egoism did help Mbappe quickly establish his reputation in the football world, but it also kept him continuously excluded from the Champions League and the Ballon d'Or. After some careful calculations, Mbappe left Paris and went to Real Madrid to continue his dreams. Although he still achieved impressive performance statistics, the team's results declined significantly.
The NBA has a famous "Green Formula": Before you arrive, we were already champions. This is how the team's veterans mock the newly joined players, saying that they just come to compete for championships. Our team is strong; it doesn’t matter whether you are there or not. However, after Mbappé joined Real Madrid, just two years later, he created a form of mockery that surpassed even the "Green Formula": Before you arrive, we were champions; after you leave, they become champions. Without Mbappé, Paris Saint-Germain will dominate in the next season, winning two Champions League titles with a performance that seems to be completely renewed. Moreover, Mendes, who had been silent in the football world for many years, will now win the Ballon d’Or.
In the 2024-25 season, after Mbappé left, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Inter Milan 5-0 in the final, winning their first Champions League title in club history.
In contrast, Real Madrid, with Mbappe in their ranks, won the Champions League last season without any losses. However, they failed to reach the Champions League finals for two consecutive seasons, and also achieved nothing on other fronts. A complete failure – nothing to show for – serves as the best description of Mbappe’s and Real Madrid’s ‘powerful alliance’.
And Mbappé, who came to Real Madrid, still followed the same style he had at Paris Saint-Germain: as the team's star player, he always took the blame. If his performance was not satisfactory and he faced criticism from fans, he would immediately find someone to leak information to the media, claiming that he was depressed. Then he would simply take a vacation by boarding an airplane. As for Mbappé being accused of rape in Sweden in 2024 and testifying for his teammate Ashraf Hakhimi who was suspected of rape in 2026, those are not even considered significant issues.
Looking at Mbappe's journey to fame, it is a typical example of how an elite middle-class immigrant manages to fully display his sophisticated self-interest under the banner of "political correctness." Under French society and Macron's political propaganda, Mbappe's skills simply did not warrant enough attention, and he passively acquired power that exceeded his capabilities. Europeans, out of fear of the colonial sins behind him as a political symbol, automatically interpreted his actions as an act of submission to individuals, which further fueled his arrogance.
In 2022, Manchester United player Greenwood was involved in an domestic violence scandal. Some netizens commented: "Study hard and become a doctor, engineer, or teacher. That's what's useful for the world. Don't be infatuated with players; some of them are simply despicable people."
