FRANCE superstar Kylian Mbappe admitted he avoided World Cup media duties to focus on his football.
Mbappe, 23, led Les Bleus to the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals after a dominant 3-1 victory over Poland at the Al Thumama Stadium.
Olivier Giroud scored his 52nd international goal to surpass Thierry Henry and become his country’s all-time top scorer, but the Paris Saint-German star stood out with a brace.
The striker was named man of the match and was obliged to speak to the media after the Last 16 encounter or else France would be fined.
The ex-Monaco star admitted he has been avoiding the cameras and even offered to cover the French football association by paying the fines himself.
Before answering questions, he addressed the lack of media appearances so far in the tournament.
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Mbappe said: “It wasn’t anything personal, I have nothing against journalists. I just needed to focus on the tournament and my football.
“When I want to concentrate on something, that’s the way I function. That’s why I didn’t do press before.
“Now I know the FFF get fined and I said I would pay the fine myself, I didn’t think they should pay on my behalf.
“This is the competition of my dreams, I’ve been preparing all my life.
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“So far it seems to be going well, we’re on our way to the ultimate objective, winning the World Cup, and now we have to focus on the quarter-final, that’s the objective now.”
Mbappe wouldn’t find it hard to pay such fines as he signed a lucrative three-year deal with PSG back in May that will see him pocket an astronomical £507million salary.
