Barcelona forward lashes out at Kylian Mbappe for his comments on South American football | OneFootball

Barcelona forward Raphinha recently had something to say to Kylian Mbappe, the new signing for Real Madrid.

The former Leeds United frontman reminded the Frenchman that he lost the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar against Argentina, a team from South America. This comment came after Mbappe claimed that the Euro Cup is more challenging than the World Cup.

“Unfortunately for him and happily for us, he lost a World Cup against a team from South America,” said Raphinha as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.

Comments backfired?

Furthermore, Raphinha brought up another controversial comment made by Mbappe a few years ago.

He had said that qualifying for the World Cup is harder in Europe than in South America because he believed that football in South America was not as developed.

Fast forward a few months, and Mbappe found himself in the World Cup final against Argentina, led by Lionel Messi. The game ended in a 3-3 tie after extra time, and Argentina won in the penalty shootout.

Kylian Mbappe made some comments about South American football. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

Raphinha expressed his thoughts, saying that he would like to see European teams compete in the South American qualifiers, playing in the conditions and fields they have in South America.

He questioned if the European teams would find it as easy or difficult as they think.

“I would like to see the European teams play the South American qualifiers in the fields we go to. There I would see if it is easy or difficult,” said the Brazilian.

Raphinha used Mbappe’s past statements and the outcome of the World Cup final to challenge the Frenchman’s views on the difficulty of South American football.

He suggested that the conditions and level of play in South America might be underestimated by those in Europe.

His comments highlight the ongoing debate about the differences in football between continents and add fuel to the rivalry between top players and teams.