French rapper speaks out on public feud with Kylian Mbappe

Adam Clery Football Column. A newsletter that unpacks the absurdities and oddities of the beautiful gameThe ACFC newsletter: unpacking football’s absurditiesUnpack football’s oddities with the ACFC newsletterPopular French rap artist Orelsan has attributed his public feud with Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe to a “misunderstanding,” following a controversial lyric from his latest record, “La fuite en avant.” The track, “La petite voix”, features Orelsan rapping as an inner voice that criticises himself, his family, and his fans.The controversy ignited with a line targeting the Mbappe family – “You’ll sink your city like the Mbappes.” This referenced the 2024 takeover of Caen’s football club by Mbappe’s company, Interconnected Ventures. Orelsan was born in Caen, and grew to be a Caen fan. Mbappe, who grew up there, took issue with the lyrics. Mbappe accused Orelsan publically of hypocrisy. open image in galleryKylian Mbappe took exception to lyrics used by Orelsan in one of his songs (AP)The France captain wrote on social media last week: “You’re welcome to come ‘save’ the city you love so much,” adding a pointed postscript: “The guy kept begging us to join with 1% without paying a cent — because he’s broke — just to look like the nice guy from Normandy.Orelsan has now tried to deescalate the situation, stating that the feud was caused by a misunderstanding during a recent interview. “I don’t really feel like responding,” he stated. “I’m still in the heat of the moment, and I don’t really want to talk about it. It’s a misunderstanding. “I think I need to explain the concept behind the album.” He elaborated on the song’s theme: “These negative things form a kind of inner voice — an inner critic — that starts to eat away at me and only see the bad. It’s a big theme of the album.”When questioned about the ongoing controversy at France’s training camp, Mbappe declined to comment further. “Nothing to say, I’m not interested,” he remarked.Mbappe’s France have the chance to secure World Cup qualification over the coming days. The team will face Ukraine on the first day, and then Azerbaijan on the second.
2025-11-12 13:41:38