Kylian Mbappe’s lawyer says the Real Madrid striker believes he has “nothing to be reproached for” after reports linking him to an alleged rape in Sweden on Thursday.
The claims first emerged after a report in Swedish media outlet Aftonbladet said Stockholm police were investigating an alleged rape in the city and that, as part of the case, officers had visited the hotel where Mbappe and some friends of his stayed last week.
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Swedish prosecutors confirmed on Tuesday that a report of rape in a hotel in central Stockholm had been received and that a preliminary investigation was being carried out by senior prosecutor Marina Chirakova.
Mbappe was not available for France this international break because of fitness concerns, and he travelled to Sweden with friends and family for some leisure time.
The Aftonbladet report said police visited the hotel on Monday and that Mbappe and his friends left Sweden on Friday. It said the police investigation was put in motion on Saturday.
This report appeared on Monday and, soon after, stories repeating the claims appeared in other media, including in Mbappe’s native France. It prompted the striker to write “FAKE NEWS!!!” in a post on X, referencing one of several articles that were published.
Speaking to French television station TF1, Mbappe lawyer’s Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard said she did not even know whether Mbappe was the subject of the rape complaint.
But she insisted that her client was “serene” about his situation.
She said: “He’s never alone. He’s never exposed to finding himself in a situation where there would be, for him, a risk being taken. So for this reason, this totally excludes the fact that he could have performed reprehensible actions. That’s an absolute certainty.
“He’s particularly serene, but he’s totally astounded to see this kind of media storm. He doesn’t understand at all what he can be reproached for, closely or from a distance.”
When asked whether Mbappe would submit himself to the Swedish justice system is the complaint was made against him, Canu-Bernard said: “If that were the case, obviously. But once more, today he showed absolute serenity and moreover he went to training, because he has strictly nothing to be reproached for.”
In his message on X on Monday, Mbappe also wrote: “It’s becoming so predictable, the day before the hearing, as if by chance.”
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This appeared to reference an appeal hearing that was due to take place the next day (Tuesday) at the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) — the governing body that runs France’s top two football leagues.
The appeal followed a previous ruling by the LFP in a dispute between Mbappe and his former club Paris Saint-Germain. The LFP ruled PSG were liable to pay Mbappe €55million the striker claims he is owed in withheld salary and bonuses from his time at the club (2018-2024).
A PSG source – speaking on condition of anonymity to protect their relationship – reacted angrily to Mbappe’s post when contacted by The Athletic, describing it as “unbelievably serious” and “disgraceful”.
A statement from Mbappe’s entourage read: “Kylian Mbappe will not tolerate under any circumstances his integrity, reputation and honour being tarnished by unfounded insinuations.
“To put an end to this methodical destruction of his image, all necessary legal actions will be taken to establish the truth and pursue each person or media outlet implicated in the moral harassment and defamatory treatment that Kylian Mbappe repeatedly suffers.”
(Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)