Mbappe slams talk of Deschamps move to Italy
Kylian Mbappe does not want to see Didier Deschamps coach another national team when he leaves France after the 2026 FIFA World Cup, warning him against a move to Italy.
Deschamps announced last year that the current tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be his last in charge of Les Bleus.
Italy is currently on the lookout for a new head coach, having dismissed Gennaro Gattuso after failing to qualify for a third consecutive FIFA World Cup in March.
Having lost on penalties to Bosnia-Herzegovina in a UEFA qualification play-off final, Italy is the first former champion to miss three straight editions of the FIFA World Cup.
Antonio Conte is the favourite for that role, having previously led the Azzurri to the quarter-finals at UEFA Euro 2016, but Deschamps also has experience in Italy, having played for and coached Juventus.
He led the Bianconeri back to Serie A in his only season in charge in 2006-2007, after Fabio Capello resigned in the wake of the Calciopoli scandal and its demotion to Serie B.
But Mbappe is hoping to dissuade Deschamps from taking that job, saying: "They said [he could join] Italy, that would be awful. I'm putting pressure on him," the Real Madrid forward said.
Deschamps, who captained France to FIFA World Cup glory in 1998 and the UEFA Euro 2000 crown, took the reins in 2012 and has overseen 179 matches, winning 115 of those.
The highlight of his reign thus far was a 4-2 victory over Croatia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup final, while France was also runner-up under him in 2022, as it was at UEFA Euro 2016.
While Zinedine Zidane is widely expected to succeed Deschamps, The France coach's next move is unclear, but Mbappe hopes he returns to club football instead of leading a different nation.
"The best way to pay tribute to him is to win, because he loves to win. We're going to make sure he has the best of the recent World Cups," Mbappe said.
"Hopefully it will be his last, because I hope he doesn't coach another [national] team."
France opens its 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign against Senegal on Wednesday (AEST), with Graham Arnold's Iraq and Norway its other Group I opponents.
