He was one of the protagonists of the World Cup in Qatar and also one of the most criticized characters in the football environment. Scaloneta’s world champion goalkeeper Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez made reference to the Kylian Mbappé hoax for the first time during the celebrations and apologised.
“I didn’t want to hurt anyone“, highlighted the Argentine goalkeeper in an interview with the French media French football. He did it in relation to the celebration with a baby who had the face of the Paris Saint Germain striker and some songs against the Parisian striker in the private celebrations of the national team in Doha and Argentina.
He added: “Throughout my career I have grown up with the French and I have never had the slightest problem. You can ask Giroud what kind of person I am. I really like the French culture and mentality.”
“The gesture I made with the best goalkeeper trophy was a joke with my teammates. I had already done it in the Copa América, and everyone was telling me: ‘You won’t do it again’. Leo too. I did it for them, nothing more. It lasted for a second and that was it,” she explained.
“Then the locker room thing, it’s a locker room thing and it should never have come out. When France beat us in 2018, I remember there were songs about Messi,” she justified.
Similarly, the Aston Villa player ruled out a particular matchup against the PSG forward. “Likewise, if a team beats Brazil, they will sing about Neymar. There is nothing personal against Mbappé. I respect that enormously. If we sing about him or Neymar it’s because they are cracks, ”she explained.
Martínez was instrumental in establishing Lionel Scaloni’s squad, saving two penalties against the Netherlands and one against France, as well as covering the decisive ball in the last minute of the World Cup final.
The goalkeeper also said that after the match he went to congratulate Mbappé for being France’s hope with his goals in the final. “I told him it was a pleasure to play against him and that he almost won this match by himself. He had the confirmation of having an immense talent. When Messi stops, I’m sure Kylian will win a lot of Ballon d’Ors,” he praised.
Source: Clarin
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