Football: Mbappé, ‘Arbeloa sees me as Real Madrid's fourth-choice striker’

Milan, 15 May (LaPresse) – "Yes, I was 100% fit and ready to start (for Real Madrid against Oviedo, 2-0). I didn’t play because the manager told me I was the fourth-choice striker that evening (Thursday), behind Gonzalo García, Vinicius and Mastantuono. It’s his decision and we have to respect it.” This is how Kylian Mbappé commented, during an interview with L’Equipe, on his exclusion from the starting line-up by manager Álvaro Arbeloa in the last La Liga match. ‘Everyone has their own ideas and their own playing philosophy. I accept that and play as much as I’m allowed to. I’m not angry with him, but I have to work hard to get back into the starting line-up and be better than Gonzalo, Mastantuono and Vinicius,’ he added. On the fans’ boos, the French striker said: "It’s part of the game, it’s part of life. You have to accept it. It’s an opinion that people express. They booed me because they’re unhappy. I can’t change people’s minds when they’re angry. But I shouldn’t take it personally. It’s part of being a Real Madrid player. But nobody’s going to die tonight. It’s normal that when you don’t win, people choose to boo the players.”