Mbappe bemoans lack of 'load management' in European soccer

Ligue 1 and the NBA are two leagues that usually don’t go together, but French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé is worried that European soccer is starting to mimic professional basketball in one very specific way.

“We’re getting closer to the NBA model, with seasons of 70 games,” Mbappé said to British GQ. “Personally, I’m not against playing that many matches, but we won’t be able to be good every time and give the public the spectacle they expect.”

The NBA currently plays 82 games over the course of a six-month season. In the 2022-2023 season, Mbappé played in 34 Ligue 1 games, the top football division in France, with his club Paris Saint-Germain. He started 32 of them and averaged 83 minutes, on top of playing a dozen times for the French national team.

“The spectator who pays for his ticket, and who may only see you once during the season, wants to see a performance worthy of the name, and that’s understandable,” Mbappé said. “In the NBA, players don’t play every game and franchises practice load management. But if I said: ‘I’m tired, I’m not playing on Saturday,’ it wouldn’t go down well.”

Many fans from around the world flock to PSG or France national team games to see Mbappé play. He is only 25, and has won a World Cup, a Champions League title, been the footballer of the year and the top goal scorer in the league. His talent and skills warrant the type of hype and crowds he draws in.

“I don’t want to preach, but we need to think together about how to offer the best possible solution so that players, spectators and football’s governing bodies can all embrace it,” he said.