"There was no pressure from Madrid: I decided not to call up Mbappe"

France coach Didier Deschamps and Aurelien Tchouameni said on Wednesday that Real Madrid did not put pressure on Kylian Mbappe not to be called up for this round of international matches.
"There was no request. The decision is mine," Deschamps told a news conference ahead of France's Nations League clash with Israel in Budapest on Thursday.
The France coach stressed that he decided not to call up Mbappe "with the elements available to me" at the time, and pointed out that the striker played part of last Saturday's La Liga match against Villarreal "without being 100 per cent".
"Is that good for the player and for the France team? I don't think so," added Deschamps, who stressed that “it's not the federations who pay the players". In any case, Didier Deschamps stressed that "it's not just the case of Real Madrid and Kylian."
The controversy also reached the press conference of the player who will wear the captain's armband on Thursday, fellow Real Madrid player Aurelien Tchouameni, who totally ruled out that there had been any pressure from Real Madrid.
"I have spoken to Kylian and Ferland Mendy about it: it has never happened. There are physical problems, that's the case with Kylian. There is no pressure of any kind from the club," he insisted.
Tchouameni acknowledged that he spoke on Tuesday night with Mbappe. "But we didn't talk much about the captaincy, we talked about other things,’ he said. The Real Madrid midfielder will be France's captain on Thursday and the announcement has surprised some in France.
Deschamps explained that he chose the Real Madrid midfielder because he believes "he has the profile to take on this responsibility because of his experience, even if he is still young", as he is 24 years old.
The coach recalled that ‘Aurel’ played for France at the last World Cup and the recent European Championship. He has 36 senior international appearances to his name, scoring three goals.