Mbappe goaded by Assou-Ekotto: Stay at home and help your friends in France!
The ex-Cameroon defender has said that the PSG superstar is not wanted in Africa
Former Tottenham defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto has restarted a feud with Paris Saint-Germain sensation Kylian Mbappe.
Assou-Ekotto previously took a swipe at the teenager via a tweet in the spring, suggesting that the forward does not care as much about his heritage as he would profess.
Like Assou-Ekotto, Mbappe was born in France to parents of Cameroonian extraction, but unlike the 34-year-old former Lens, Saint-Etienne and Metz full-back, he chose to play international for the country of his birth.
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The PSG star had spoken of his desire to honour his family’s roots by helping to develop the game on the continent of his heritage over a dinner meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron and Liberian president George Weah.
“European players of African origin who hold Africa in their hears and who want to help the sport in Africa… blah, blah, blah… while rushing to play for a European national team make me chuckle,” the former Cameroon defender, who was born in Arras said.
“It looks good when you have a cause though.”
It sparked a sarcastic response from Mbappe, who twisted Assou Ekotto’s own words as he tweeted a reply.
Assou Ekotto responded with a quote from French author Victor Hugo: “A lion who copies becomes a monkey.”
Now he has reopened the debate while speaking with RMC.
“Put yourself in the place of the players from Cameroon,” he said. “You, a French player are going to come to develop us… Stay at home, help your guys in Bondy, in your neighbourhood, in your France.
“Yes, you love Africa, but you never go there. So what’s the story? Yes, you love your wife, but you go out with another. It’s a game I know, manipulate public opinion, blah, blah blah.”
The feud seems to have had its roots in a clash between PSG and Metz at the start of last season, in which Assou-Ekotto was sent off for clashing with the young France international.
He has, however, since hung up his boots, while Mbappe’s star has only risen, becoming the second teenager ever to score in a World Cup final as he helped France to Russia 2018 glory in the summer.