‘It will continue to hurt’: Kylian Mbappe breaks silence after France World Cup heartbreak

Kylian Mbappe (PTI Photo) France captain Kylian Mbappe has shared an emotional message to fans following Les Bleus’ disappointing end to their 2026 World Cup campaign, admitting the pain of missing out on the trophy will remain with him despite his historic individual achievements.France’s title bid ended with a 2–0 semi-final defeat by Spain, before being beaten 6–4 by England in the third-place play-off. Mbappe finished the tournament as the Golden Boot winner with 10 goals and became the top scorer in FIFA World Cup history with 22 goals, overtaking Lionel Messi. However, the forward said team success was always the priority.

‘It’s going to keep hurting’

In a heartfelt letter published in French regional press, Mbappe admitted the disappointment of not lifting the World Cup was still hard to accept.“We didn’t bring home the team trophy. It hurts and it will hurt for a while, I won’t lie to you,” wrote Mbappe.The 27-year-old was eyeing another memorable World Cup journey, having previously lifted the trophy in 2018, finished runners-up in 2022 and captained France during the 2026 edition.

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Mbappe also thanked the fans who stood behind the national team throughout the tournament and appreciated the sacrifices many made to watch the matches in different time zones.“You stayed up late, sometimes late into the night, depending on the time zone, to watch us play on the other side of the world. You gathered at home, in bars, with family or friends, all over France and beyond. Others were right there with us, in the stadiums, with flags over their shoulders. Children with shining eyes, men and women from all backgrounds and generations, sharing the same joy in this sport, united by the same sport. added. The forward praised the fans for standing by the team in difficult times.“You never gave up on us, even in the most difficult moments, even when we least deserved it. This story was written by millions of hands, not just eleven on the field, all driven by the same passion.”

The golden shoe offers little consolation

Although Mbappe ended the tournament as its top scorer, he admitted that individual honor cannot compensate for missing out on the World Cup title.“I take the title of top scorer with pride, but it would have been much better with the cup. Maybe we owed you a better ending. But we don’t always choose the ending of the story, we choose what we put into it and we put everything into it. We are proud of it,” wrote Mbappe. He also thanked his teammates for helping him achieve the milestone.“Thank you to my teammates. Without their work, runs, passes, without this team spirit that carried us from the first game to the last, I could never have scored so many goals. This title belongs to the team as much as to me,” thanked Mbappe.

Tribute to Didier Deschamps

Mbappe also paid tribute to outgoing France manager Didier Deschamps, who has already announced that the 2026 World Cup will be his last tournament.“I’ve already said what I should have said to Didier, he knows it. I thank him and also all his staff: physiotherapists, cooks, trainers, drivers, all those people who nobody ever sees and without whom none of this would be possible.”Deschamps is expected to hand over the reins to French football legend Zinedine Zidane, ending a highly successful era for the national team.

“Football remains a game”

Mbappe ended his message by reflecting on the universal appeal of football and the passion it creates.“Football at its core remains a game. A game that we take very seriously and that we work all our lives to master, but still a game with simple rules that have not changed since we started playing it: the ball, the goal, the desire to score. That’s why it unites us all with the same passion,” concluded Mbappe.