Kylian Mbappé put on his ownership hat and made a surprise visit to his struggling Ligue 2 side Stade Malherbe Caen on Thursday.
The Real Madrid forward, who acquired a majority share of Caen last summer, took advantage of his day off in Spain and travelled to Caen to encourage the coach and players with the team facing the prospect of relegation.
“I want to show my support,” Mbappé told reporters. “To be in contact with everyone and for them to know that they can count on me, and especially in the situation we’re in.
“If I’m here it’s because I believe in the project. I wanted to come earlier but it was impossible. I told them [the team] that I was with them and that they had to believe. And I saw a group that is not resigned and wants to change the results.”
Mbappé’s visit came just two days after the club’s decision to sack manager Bruno Baltazar on Tuesday and appoint Michel Der Zakarian as his replacement.
Baltazar, who had only taken over the job in December following the sacking of Caen great Nicolas Seube, failed to turn results around.
Caen are winless since Nov. 2 and Monday’s 1-0 defeat at Annecy FC was their ninth straight league loss.
Mbappé discovered early on how challenging ownership is with Caen fans upset over the dismissal of Seube.
In the team’s first game of 2025, Caen fans displayed a banner aimed at the Real Madrid star that read ‘Mbappé SMC is not your toy!’
Despite the French team’s dismal form, Mbappé, who scored a hat trick in Madrid’s 3-1 win against Manchester City in Wednesday’s Champions League game, is not giving up hope.
“I think that with the quality of the team and the support of the fans, things can change and I hope that this is a turning point,” he said on Thursday.
“In football, we have seen that nothing is impossible. There is a lack of confidence, but I think that a good run of results can change the team’s spiral.
“I understand the frustration of the people, as I have told them personally, because I have not been through this before. It is normal to be angry, but the people support, fill the stadium and our mission is to give our best.”
Caen are at the foot of the Ligue 2 standings, 11 points from safety, heading into Saturday’s league game against Pau.
The bottom two sides in the division are relegated automatically, while the team finishing in 16th enters a relegation playoff with the third-placed team in the league below.
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