France captain Kylian Mbappe has reached out to the nation with a deeply personal open letter following the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup. The Real Madrid superstar expressed his gratitude to the supporters and his team-mates while reflecting on a tournament that ended in heartbreak for the Bleus in North America.
One week after the World Cup campaign that ended on a sour note for the French national team, who finished fourth after being beaten by England in the third place playoff, Mbappe chose to address the fans directly through an open letter published in the regional daily press on Monday. In this letter, illustrated with personal photos, including a childhood memory of himself in front of a poster of his idol Thierry Henry, Mbappe did not hide the pain he felt after the team's failure.
"We didn't bring home a team trophy. It hurts, and it will continue to hurt for a while, I'm not going to lie to you about that," Mbappe wrote.
A large part of the letter is dedicated to French fans, who followed the team's adventures despite the significant time difference. Mbappe noted the dedication of fans throughout France and beyond. "You stayed up late, sometimes until the dead of night depending on the time zone, to watch us play on the other side of the world. You gathered at home, in bars, with family or friends, all over France and beyond," he emphasised.
"Others were right there with us, in the stadiums, flags draped over their shoulders. Children with shining eyes, men and women of all backgrounds and generations, united by the same joy: the joy of sharing. That's the power of this sport. And you never gave up on us, even in the toughest moments, even when we least deserved it. This story was written by millions of hands, not just eleven on the field, all driven by the same passion.
"Above all, it's passion, the same passion that drives us on the pitch and drives you, in front of the screen and in the stands. That's what we experienced together, an incredible story."
Mbappe finished the competition as top scorer with an impressive total of 10 goals. However, this individual distinction remains secondary in his eyes compared to the ultimate goal that eluded Les Bleus, who crashed out to eventual winners Spain in the semi-finals. "I take the title of top scorer with pride, but it would have been so much better with the cup as well. Perhaps we owed you a better ending. But we don't always choose the ending of the story, we choose what we put into it, and we put everything into it. We are proud of that," he affirmed.
The captain also didn't forget his teammates, paying a heartfelt tribute to those who helped him achieve his exceptional statistics: "Thank you to my teammates. Without their work, their runs, their passes, without this team spirit that carried us from the first to the last match, I could never have scored so many goals. This title belongs as much to the team as it does to me. As a child, I dreamed of playing in a World Cup, at least one. I played in three, I won one, and this year, I had the honour of playing in it as captain. I will never forget it."
