 "File image of France and Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe. AP")
French football star Kylian Mbappe being investigated for rape by Swedish police following his recent visit to Stockholm, though the Real Madrid forward has slammed it as “fake news”.
While Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet carried a report of an alleged rape had been reported to the police, it did not make any mention of the accused. Expressen however, went a step further and named 25-year-old Mbappe as the suspect in the investigation.
“According to information obtained by Expressen, police are investigating the star who is reasonably suspected of rape and sexual assault,” the newspaper wrote.
Swedish law officials differentiate the level of suspicion as either reasonable or probable, the former being of a lower degree.
A Swedish prosecutor later said a rape investigation had been opened without mentioning Mbappe.
“In response to media reports about a suspected rape in Stockholm, the prosecutor can confirm that a criminal report has been submitted to the police,” Sweden’s Prosecution Authority said in a statement.
When contacted by AFP, Mbappe’s entourage denied knowledge of any legal complaint being made against the 25-year-old.
Mbappe, who had spent seven seasons at Paris Saint-Germain before his high-profile transfer to Real Madrid earlier this year, had not been picked for Les Bleus’ latest round of UEFA Nations League matches and chose to visit Stockholm with a group of people last Thursday.
The group dined at a restaurant and later went to a nightclub, according to the Aftonbladet report. They departed from the Swedish capital on Friday.
The newspaper said a rape was committed “in Stockholm city centre”, citing a formal complaint made to police on Saturday that it had seen.
Aftonbladet said the complaint was filed after the alleged victim had sought medical attention but did not say who was named in the accusation.
Later, Expressen reported that Mbappe was the suspect.
Mbappe himself claimed in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that there was a link between the Aftonbladet report and his hearing before a French league committee on Tuesday in his bitter dispute with his former club PSG over what he says are unpaid wages.
Mbappe claims he is owed €55 million ($60 million) by the Qatari-owned French champions.
“FAKE NEWS !!!!. It’s becoming so predictable, on the eve of the hearing, as if by chance,” Mbappe posted.
A prosecutor investigating the accusation told AFP: “A probe is under way into a crime that was reported on October 10 in the centre of Stockholm.”
‘Slanderous’
Swedish police declined to give any further details.
“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 police spokeswoman Carina Skagerlind.
Aftonbladet published photos on its website on Monday showing police officers in front of the hotel where Mbappe and the group with him had stayed.
Mbappe’s entourage said in a statement sent to AFP: “Today, a new slanderous rumour is starting to spread across the web from the Swedish media Aftonbladet.
“These accusations are completely false and irresponsible, and their propagation is unacceptable.
“In order to put an end to this methodical destruction of (the) image (of Kylian Mbappe), all necessary legal action 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 suffering repeatedly,” the statement added.
A source close to Paris Saint-Germain told AFP it would “ignore” Mbappe’s claim that there was a link between the report in Sweden and his dispute with the club.
Read | Kylian Mbappe rejects mediation in pay dispute with PSG: What’s the issue?
Mbappe joined Madrid in the summer after seven years at PSG.
He has become one of the world’s highest paid players after a stellar career.
He joined Pele as the only teenager to score in a World Cup final when France beat Croatia 4-2 to win the 2018 edition and was voted Best Young Player of the tournament.
Four years later in Qatar, he scored a hat-trick in the final against Argentina but finished on the losing side as Lionel Messi’s side won in a penalty shootout.
Mbappe ‘rape’ report ’not good’ for France team: Deschamps
France coach Didier Deschamps said Monday that a report claiming captain Mbappe was being investigated for rape in Sweden “is not a good thing for the national team”.
“Everyone is free to write what they want but there is a negative atmosphere” around the French team, Deschamps told reporters following the 2-1 win in Belgium in the UEFA Nations League.
His comments came in response to questions about Mbappe, the France skipper who was allowed to sit out the team’s games this month in order to work on his fitness .
That was already a source of controversy in the build-up to last Thursday’s win against Israel, before reports emerged in the Swedish media of Mbappe being a suspect in a rape investigation.
“Be careful when you pick things up,” Deschamps warned.
“You had better take a bit of a step back before publishing anything and everything, but these things happen so often,” he said, appearing to cast doubt on the report.
“There are things that are not difficult to verify, but if you credit any old thing…
“In any case I am not going to talk to him about it. He is big enough to know how to communicate.”
With AFP inputs