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Kylian Mbappé has vowed to take legal action for libel over the Swedish rape investigation which his name was linked to as his lawyer revealed on Friday.
The France captain, however, is “at ease” because “he has done nothing wrong”, lawyer Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard said.
Read Also: Rape Report: ‘I’m A Victim Of ‘Fake News’ – Mbappe Laments
A Swedish prosecutor said Tuesday that a rape investigation had been opened without mentioning Mbappé, following media reports that the Real Madrid and France star was the suspect following a visit with friends to Stockholm.
Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet and Expressen, and public broadcaster SVT all reported that 25-year-old Mbappé was the target of the investigation, following his two-day visit to the Nordic capital last week.
Mbappé’s lawyer Canu-Bernard said the player was “not aware of the extent of the media frenzy, but is completely calm and does not understand what he could be accused of”.
“He is stunned to hear that it could concern him. He preferred to go to training and asked my office not to leave things as they are because it is impossible to let yourself be slandered and defamed in this way.
“This is the reason why we are going to file a complaint for libel.”
The lawyer said she could neither confirm nor deny claims in Swedish media that Mbappé was the suspect.
“We read the press,” Canu-Bernard said. “The Stockholm prosecutor’s office issued a statement, but it does not allow us to know whether Kylian Mbappé is the target.
“I therefore have no information allowing me to confirm whether this is indeed a complaint filed against him.”
Mbappe claimed in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that there was a link between the report in the Aftonbladet newspaper and his hearing before a French league committee on Tuesday in his bitter dispute over unpaid wages with his former club Paris Saint-Germain.
“FAKE NEWS !!!!. It’s becoming so predictable, on the eve of the hearing, as if by chance,” Mbappe posted.
The 25-year-old player’s entourage called the report a “slanderous rumour” and threatened to take legal action.
Mbappe claims he is owed 55 million euros ($60 million) by the Qatari-owned French champions.
