Joan Laporta, the president of Barcelona, strongly criticized Kylian Mbappe after he chose not to participate in the traditional guard of honour following the Spanish Super Cup final.
In Sunday’s intense El Clasico in Jeddah, Barcelona won 3-2 to keep the Spanish Super Cup but the celebrations were disrupted by a controversial action involving Mbappe, who played in the final despite having a knee injury.
Mbappe was appeared frustrated after the match ended and told his Madrid teammates to leave the field instead of staying for the trophy ceremony or honouring Barcelona which upset Barcelona's management.
After Barcelona’s win, president Laporta told Catalan radio station RAC-1 that he was disappointed with Mbappe’s behaviour.
He said, "I was surprised by what he did. In victory and in defeat, you have to be generous and respectful. This is sport, and you must maintain normal behaviour. I believe that we, in victory, were generous and respected the opposing team. That is why I cannot understand it."
"The truth is that I didn't see that specific moment of Mbappe on the pitch live, but I understand that it must have been a difficult time. They must have been really upset, and that's why they reacted that way," Laporta added.
On the other hand, Xabi Alonso stepped down as the manager of Madrid on Monday, January 12 after just eight months as manager.
Minutes after the announcement, Madrid named former player and Alonso’s ex-Liverpool teammate, Alvaro Arbeloa, as the new manager.
