Having been absent from France’s national team since the September international break, captain Kylian Mbappé revealed the reason for his absence.

The skipper revealed that he and Antoine Griezmann had suffered for what they were not guilty of.

Meanwhile, Griezmann won’t be featuring Les Bleus again after he announced his international retirement in the wake of that international break. 

However, Mbappé will return again, having been absent from the last two international breaks despite being fit.

Speaking on the development, Didier Deschamps, who was unclear about Mbappé’s absence, stated later that his captain was in a “difficult situation” and “going through a period that is not the happiest in his career.” 

He also suggested that Mbappé perhaps wasn’t in the right frame of mind during the September international break. 

In an interview with Le Parisien, Mbappé confirmed this, saying the international break was difficult for him and Griezmann.

He referenced a “lack of gratitude,” adding that he believed the pair had been “designated guilty for things that they weren’t guilty of.” 

Speaking on the retirement of the former Barcelona attacker, he said Griezmann broached the topic before the break before the pair then discussed it at Clairefontaine. 

Although he refused to disclose the reasoning behind Griezmann’s surprise decision, he confirmed that there is no rift between the pair.

 They live close to each other in Madrid, but reports in Spain say they rarely see each other. The 

“With Antoine, I can assure you that there is a very good relationship. He has already invited me to his house plenty of times for a barbeque. But in Madrid, it is impossible to do that before a two-legged tie (between Real Madrid and Griezmann’s club, Atletico Madrid). We haven’t managed to do it yet but for sure we will manage to. We live next to each other, in the same residence,” said Mbappé.