Emmanuel Petit (foto: //)
Emmanuel Petit, 1998 World Cup champion, sparks controversy with his bizarre claim that Kylian Mbappé is under a curse amid the star’s struggles at Real Madrid.
ylian Mbappé is enduring a rough patch. The French forward, who joined Real Madrid this summer, has struggled to adapt, with inconsistent performances overshadowing his early days in Spain. The latest low point came during Real’s 2-0 Champions League loss to Liverpool, where Mbappé missed a crucial penalty that could have changed the course of the match.
But while many attribute Mbappé’s poor form to football-related issues, Emmanuel Petit, a 1998 World Cup winner, has offered a far more unusual explanation: he believes Mbappé has been cursed. Speaking as a pundit on RMC’s After Foot show, Petit made the bold claim with conviction.
"I genuinely think he’s been cursed. I believe in these things, even if most Westerners don’t—it’s not part of our culture, we’re too rational. But I stand by it. I think Mbappé is under some sort of curse," Petit declared, leaving the panelists visibly stunned.
When pressed by hosts Gilbert Brisbois and Daniel Riolo about who might have cast this supposed curse, Petit hesitated before adding, "People keep mentioning Pogba… I don’t know, everyone says that."
Petit’s remarks quickly went viral, as fans and pundits alike debated the legitimacy of his outlandish theory. He also went on to describe Mbappé’s current situation as a period of extreme bad luck. "It’s like if a piece of the Moon were to fall on Earth, out of billions of people, it’s Mbappé who gets hit by it right now," he joked.
While most dismiss Petit’s comments as outlandish, they underscore just how dramatic Mbappé’s decline in form has been since his much-anticipated move to Real Madrid. Whether it’s a curse or simply a slump, the star striker will need to find a way to turn things around quickly.