Mbappe on his meeting with Zidane: "It's like a movie"

Madrid – AFP – Kylian Mbappé, captain of the French national football team, expressed his delight at reuniting with Zinedine Zidane, the new coach of the "Les Bleus," 15 years after a trial with "Zizou" in the youth categories of Spanish club Real Madrid.

Speaking in an interview with Madrid-based newspaper "As," the French star said: "Years have passed since then. Zidane was the first to come meet me and took me to the club's training center. I was 13 or 14 years old. It feels like a lifetime has passed since that moment."

The former Paris Saint-Germain star continued, just before joining his national team at Clairefontaine: "It’s a great feeling, and it’s become tangible. We are starting a new chapter for France (the national team), and we have two years to prepare for the European Championship, which is what we will dedicate ourselves to."

When asked about this new era (with Zidane), the all-time top scorer of the two-time world champions acknowledged that it could be "a change for everyone," as the current squad has only known "Didier Deschamps" so far.

A day after Real Madrid’s 1-2 defeat to Atlético Madrid, Mbappé declined to engage in debates over refereeing, but he did point to "mistakes" that affected the course of the match.

The "Los Blancos" striker clarified: "It’s a step backward, that’s for sure. It’s a loss that’s hard to accept. We wanted to win, and we knew what kind of match we would face. But the team gave everything it had, and we must keep moving forward because the season is still long, and we need to stay on the right track."

Mbappé admitted that the "Los Merengues" players need to "do other things" and "work" to "bring back the smile to Real Madrid" and "win titles again," after two years without major trophies.