France president makes Real Madrid request ahead of Kylian Mbappe move
French president Emmanuel Macron is thought to have used an informal meeting with Florentino Perez this week to try and personally persuade the Real Madrid chief to allow Kylian Mbappe to play at the Olympics on home soil this summer.
As Olympic men's football continues to gain more prestige and momentum, Mbappe has made little secret of his ambition to represent France at a home Games.
But Madrid have made the decision to block their players from competing due to the tournament taking place right after Euro 2024 and the Copa America, as well as clashing with pre-season.
Mbappe hasn't officially signed with the club just yet, but his departure from Paris Saint-Germain at the end of his contract next month has been announced and the entire football world would be completely stunned if the former Monaco talent was to end up literally anywhere else.
Macron, who previously vowed to put "maximum pressure" on Madrid, and Perez both attended a special lunch in Paris on Tuesday to mark the 120th anniversary of FIFA.
Emmanuel Macron is getting personally involved on behalf of France | Christian Liewig - Corbis/GettyImages
L'Equipe reported that Macron wanted to take the opportunity to speak face to face with Perez about releasing Mbappe in particular for the Olympics, which runs from 24 July until 9 August. Madrid had already informed the French Football Federation that they will not be letting their players, which also includes Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga and Ferland Mendy, be called up for anything that is not part of FIFA's official international calendar.
As a result, clubs are not obliged to let players go to the Olympics in the same way that they are for major tournaments, qualifiers and even officially recognised friendlies.
With the Olympics an under-23 competition, Mbappe would have to be one of the squad's designated overage players if he got permission from Madrid to go. A 24-year-old Neymar was one for Brazil when he captained the Selecao to the gold medal on home soil in 2016.
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This article was originally published on www.90min.com as France president makes Real Madrid request ahead of Kylian Mbappe move.