Jordan Bardella responds after Mbappé criticises National Rally
France captain and Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé has again stepped beyond football and into politics, breaking the unwritten rule that sport should stay out of electoral battles.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, the star striker said he feared a possible victory by the right-wing National Rally in France’s 2027 presidential election. Mbappé said he knew “what could happen to the country” if “such people” came to power.
The response from Jordan Bardella, the 30-year-old leader of the party criticised by the footballer, was brief and cutting. Rather than launching into a debate about values, Bardella answered in the language of football and chose a point that touches Mbappé directly at a time when the player is under pressure over form and dressing-room tensions.
“I know what happened when Mbappé left PSG,” Bardella wrote on X.
Et moi je sais ce qui arrive lorsque Kylian Mbappé quitte le PSG : le club gagne la Ligue des Champions ! (Et peut-être bientôt une deuxième fois.) https://t.co/IkZOH1aMy3
— Jordan Bardella (@J_Bardella) May 12, 2026
The jab was obvious: after Mbappé moved to Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain went on to win the Champions League and is now preparing for another final in Europe’s top competition.
Marine Le Pen joins the mockery
Marine Le Pen later picked up the same line on RTL. She recalled that Mbappé had left PSG partly because he wanted to win Europe’s biggest trophy only for his former French club, not the player himself, to achieve that goal after his departure.
For Le Pen, this was proof that the footballer’s predictions tend to come true in reverse.
“If he says he does not want us to win the election, then that reassures me,” she said.
Other National Rally figures also criticised the footballer. MP Julien Odoul described the captain’s remarks as political activism unsuited to the leader of the national team. Laurent Jacobelli argued that Mbappé has no right to dismiss the concerns of around 13 million French voters who support National Rally.
Mbappé, for his part, insists he is “a citizen first” and says his profession should not force him into silence on social issues.
A millionaire’s view of French society
There is, however, an obvious question: how much does Mbappé really know about the daily problems of French society?
This is a man who has earned millions of euros a year since childhood and began his career at Monaco, the football club of a wealthy principality associated with billionaires. His view of France may owe more to globalist media owned by financial elites than to ordinary French life.
That is why Le Pen’s description of him as a “privileged millionaire” has found an audience.
Social media users also recalled Mbappé’s earlier calls to vote against “extremes” during the 2024 European elections. Commentators and politicians have pointed out that his own career choices are hardly free of controversy.
In Madrid, he has not yet won the trophy he left Paris to chase. Spanish football media have also reported that his difficult character and ego have caused tensions inside Real Madrid.
“I found out that he is alone in the dressing room of the royal club,” journalist Josep Pedrerol, known for El Chiringuito, said on his podcast.
Bardella looks beyond the football row
The football-related controversy has not stopped Jordan Bardella from continuing his broader effort to present himself as a future national leader.
He is currently the main likely presidential candidate for National Rally, especially given the possible legal obstacles facing Marine Le Pen. Polling by Toluna–Harris Interactive shows Bardella leading first-round scenarios with 35–36%, while his nearest left-wing rival, Raphaël Glucksmann, trails on 14%.
At the same time, Bardella is working to break through the so-called cordon sanitaire around right-wing parties. In an interview with the centrist German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, he stressed the importance of the Franco-German partnership, calling it the “foundation of Europe”.
He also signalled readiness to work with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on migration, reducing bureaucracy and revising the Green Deal, which National Rally says is damaging the competitiveness of Europe’s economy.
For Bardella, these steps are part of the party’s detoxification strategy. Unlike the older generation, he no longer raises the issue of Frexit and is trying to build channels with Berlin. The German ambassador has already met him, although the meeting was kept quiet for some time.
The model is clearly Giorgia Meloni in Italy: remain right-wing, but speak pragmatically inside the European Union.
While a global football star spends his media capital warning voters about the “wrong” political choice, the presidential contender he attacked is calmly expanding his international agenda and remains ahead in the polls.
