The forward Kylian Mbappé addressed his relationship with Neymar and Vinícius Júnior, rejecting any favoritism for France in the friendly match against Brazil, scheduled for this Thursday in Boston. When asked whether the Brazilian national team should be seen as 'Vini Jr.'s team' or 'Neymar's team,' the French number 10 did not hesitate to praise his former PSG teammate. Despite the known tensions in their relationship in Paris, Mbappé highlighted Neymar's importance to the Brazilian national team, saying, 'What a question (laughs)! I believe it can be both. Vini now needs to take a step up in the national team, but Neymar is Neymar. Neymar is a great player. The World Cup is the competition of stars. All the stars are here, and for me, Neymar is one of the biggest stars. I don't see the World Cup without Neymar. But I can't go against my former coach, who is Ancelotti. I have to respect his decision,' he said in an interview with GE. The French star also valued Brazil's tradition, symbolized by the 'five stars' on their jersey, and dismissed the idea that his team is the favorite for the match. It is worth noting that France has had the upper hand over Brazil in the World Cups of 1986, 1998, and 2006. 'You can never be the favorite against a team that has five stars on their jersey. Impossible. Brazil is the greatest football country. For us, it's an opportunity to play against Brazil, to show our quality, what we are capable of doing, and to prepare to win the World Cup this summer,' he added. Mbappé, before Brazil vs. France: 'You can never be the favorite against a team that has 5 stars on the jersey. Impossible. Brazil is the greatest football country, 5 stars on the jersey, 5 World Cups. History!' Confronted with Vini Jr.'s statement that there are no friendly matches between the two nations, Mbappé agreed. 'He is right (laughs), because they are two great teams and in the end (of the match) we will talk a lot in the locker room about who won. They are rivals, but there is a lot of respect. They are great games, they are friends. Only on the field there are no friends, but after the game, we are all friends and we will laugh with each other,' he stated. In a more relaxed moment of the interview, and in response to a joke about not seeing him in the Copa Libertadores, Mbappé humorously revealed that he hopes for an invitation from his friend Vini Jr. to watch a Flamengo game, now coached by Leonardo Jardim: 'Who knows? You never know what will happen. I will ask Vini if he lets me go see a Flamengo game in the Copa Libertadores.' The forward, who is expected to start in the friendly, also spoke about the experience of working with coaches Didier Deschamps and Carlo Ancelotti. 'It's very good that they are completely different; they have a different vision of football. For me, as a player, it's a golden opportunity because I see two different ways of winning, of learning football. It is a pride to have Deschamps, and I was lucky to have Carlo for just one year, but I have the utmost respect and admiration for Carlo as a coach,' he concluded.
Flamengo The Vini Jr remains central to this story.
Flamengo The Vini Jr remains central to this story.
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