Following a visit by the Real Madrid star’s entourage to Stockholm, a Swedish publication stated that a rape inquiry had been initiated. Kylian Mbappe said on Monday that he was the victim of “fake news.”
In an article on X, the platform that was once known as Twitter, Mbappe asserted that a connection existed between the Aftonbladet newspaper report and his Tuesday hearing before a French league committee over his acrimonious wage dispute with his former team, Paris Saint-Germain. “FAKE NEWS !!!!. On the eve of the hearing, it’s getting so routine, almost like a coincidence,” Mbappe wrote.
The player’s entourage, who is 25 years old, denounced the allegation as “slanderous rumour” and vowed to file a lawsuit. Mbappe says the French champions, who are owned by Qatar, owe him 55 million euros, or $60 million. The 2018 World Cup winner spent Thursday and Friday in the Swedish capital after being left off of France’s Nations League matches last week.
Mbappe ate dinner at a restaurant on Thursday with a group of companions before heading to a nightclub, according ‘Aftonbladet’ sources. Citing an official complaint it had received on Saturday, the newspaper reported that a rape had taken place “in Stockholm city centre”. Aftonbladet did not identify the person making the charge, but stated that the report was made following the alleged victim’s medical attention.
A probe is under way into a crime that was reported on October 10 in the centre of Stockholm,” the prosecutor looking into the accusation told AFP. The Swedish police declined to provide any more information. “In general, if we have received a complaint and decided to conduct interviews and we make it known (to the public), those involved in the case may take actions that delay and complicate the investigation,” said Carina Skagerlind, a police
On Monday, the Swedish daily posted pictures of police officers outside the hotel where Mbappe and his companions had slept on its website. In a statement provided to AFP, Mbappe’s team stated: “A fresh, malicious rumour is beginning to circulate online today, originating from the Swedish media outlet Aftonbladet.
The spread of these charges is intolerable as they are wholly unfounded and careless. The statement continued, “All necessary legal actions will be taken to re-establish the truth and pursue any person or media involved in the moral harassment and defamatory treatment that Kylian Mbappe is repeatedly suffering in order to put an end to this methodical destruction of (the) image (of Kylian Mbappe).” According to a person close to Paris Saint-Germain, the team would “ignore” Mbappe’s assertion that the Swedish article was connected to his disagreement with the team. Mbappe left PSG after seven years and joined Real Madrid in the summer.
