Yoopya with Associated Press
PARIS (AP) — Kylian Mbappé says he reacted with disbelief when he saw media reports from Sweden two months ago that he was the subject of a rape investigation.
The Real Madrid star spoke about the case publicly for the first time in an interview that aired Sunday on French TV station Canal Plus.
Several Swedish media reported in October that Mbappé was the subject of a rape investigation following a visit to Stockholm during time off from playing for Madrid and France. At the time Mbappé’s legal team dismissed those reports as false.
“I was surprised and I still am surprised, by the way. These are things that come into your life like that, you can’t see them coming,” Mbappé told Canal Plus. “It’s just incomprehension. I don’t think it weighed on me in the sense that I have never considered myself involved.”
Mbappé added that he “would go” to Sweden if ever he were summoned but that he has not been contacted by authorities.
“Listen, I haven’t received anything, no summons, nothing,” he told Canal Plus. “The Swedish government has not said anything, so I’m not concerned (involved).”
When the reports emerged in October, Swedish authorities confirmed that they were investigating a suspected rape at a Stockholm hotel but didn’t name any suspect.
A prosecutor told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet late last month that the investigation was still ongoing but didn’t give other details.
BY JEROME PUGMIRE