Aasai

France captain Kylian Mbappe said on Thursday that top footballers do not necessarily have to play as many matches but need more rest in a busy schedule that offers little time off. "Its not just about the number of games, but more about recovery. 

We just need more rest, time off so that our bodies can recover and recover from the number of matches we have to play," Mbappe told reporters in Poland, where France begin their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign against Ukraine on Friday.

 Mbappe made 59 appearances last season in his first campaign with Real Madrid, from making his debut in the UEFA Super Cup on August 14 last year until the Club World Cup semi-final defeat by Paris Saint-Germain on July 9. He also made six appearances for France during that time, and returned to Real in La Liga as the season began on August 19 before France qualified for next years World Cup. time again.

 "Are we playing too much? No, my mentality has changed," Mbappe insisted. "I thought so, but I don think so anymore, because I understand that people watching from their sofas think we e making a lot of money and so we have to play." Mbappe, who scored 44 goals for the Spanish giants last season, admitted that the introduction of the Club World Cup has increased the demands on players. 

"We were just getting to the quarter-finals and the teams had already started playing friendlies. They started the 2025/26 season when it was still 2024/25 for us," he said. "I watch a lot of matches but I don remember seeing a player -- even the greatest of all time -- playing 60 games in a season and being at his best."

 He added: "Its something that needs to be looked at, because everyone will come out on top. People will see high-quality games." After playing Ukraine, France host Iceland in Paris next Tuesday. They also face Azerbaijan in Group D, the winners of which will qualify automatically for the World Cup.

Mbappe, who scored 44 goals for the Spanish giants last season, admitted that the introduction of the Club World Cup has increased the demands on players. "We were just in the quarter-finals, and the teams had already started playing friendlies, it was the 2025/26 season and for us it was 2024/25," he said. "I watch a lot of games but I don remember seeing a player -even the greatest of all time  playing 60 games in a season and being at his best." He added, "Its something that needs to be looked at, because everyone will come out on top. People will see high-quality games." After playing Ukraine, France host Iceland in Paris next Tuesday. They also face Azerbaijan in Group D, the winners of which will qualify automatically for the World Cup.