Kylian Mbappe rejects ‘dictator’ comparisons and says Ousmane Dembele ‘just laughs’

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe says the social media nickname “dictator” is partly amusing but also troubling because it compares him with figures responsible for immense suffering throughout history.

Mbappe was speaking in an interview with France Football, which is publishing extracts from the conversation with the French magazine. Some supporters and social media users have used the label to describe the France international.

“It is partly funny because it gives the impression that, for some people, it is simply a joke,” Mbappe said.

“But there is also a less amusing side, because we know the damage that this kind of person has caused throughout history.”

He added: “To be compared with people who killed others, or caused misery for millions and millions of people… I do not think I have ever done anything remotely similar in my life.”

Mbappe said the nickname reflected a mixture of humour and, at times, a lack of political and human awareness.

“There are several things at play,” he said. “On the one hand, I know it is said as a joke and does not go that far, but sometimes it reveals a lack of political and human awareness among people.”

The 26-year-old then referred to his former Paris team-mate Ousmane Dembele, who he said found the issue amusing after discovering it on social media.

“Ousmane Dembele is different… he discovered it on social media! He just laughs,” Mbappe said.

Mbappe was referring to jokes Dembele makes with him about the nickname. The Paris player has jokingly called Mbappe “Mobutu”, a reference to the dictator who ruled Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for 25 years.