Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has been slammed by former Villans captain Darren Bent for trolling Kylian Mbappe mercilessly while celebrating Argentina’s World Cup triumph over France on Sunday (18 December). The Englishman believes that the Albiceleste shot-stopper went too far with his antics.
Emiliano Martinez and Kylian Mbappe were both influential for their respective nations in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final in Qatar.
The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward bagged a 120-minute hat-trick and also scored in the shootout. Meanwhile, the Aston Villa goalkeeper made several crucial saves to ensure Argentina emerged as champions.
During a trophy parade in Argentina, the Aston Villa goalkeeper was seen holding a baby doll with the PSG forward’s face on it.
However, that gesture didn’t sit well with Bent. During an interview with talkSPORT, the former England forward accused Martinez of overdoing his taunting of the Frenchman. He said:
“I understand it but I think he’s going overboard. I know they beat France but you’re talking about a guy that smashed the ball past you during that game four times. It’s not like you saved his penalty or did something to make him look foolish, Mbappe still scored a hat-trick in 120 minutes and a penalty in the shootout; and all three times he went the same way.”
“It’s all well and good you clowning him and joking because you won the World Cup, and rightly so, but if you talk about Mbappe vs Martinez, Mbappe made him look silly.”
Presenter Andy Goldstein raised the point that the Frenchman ignited the unhealthy rivalry with his comments on South American football. Bent, however, insists that Martinez should’ve let it go especially as Argentina triumphed in the World Cup. He said:
“That I understand but let it go. Listen, you’ve won the World Cup, you’ve had the last laugh and now you’re making yourself look like an idiot. If I’m Messi, I’m saying, ‘I’m happy as you are but he’s my teammate at the end of the day. We’ve won it, we’ve had the last laugh, we are world champions, let’s wind in a bit now.’”
Kylian Mbappe’s controversial comments on South American football
The Frenchman angered many by attempting to play down the level of South American football during an interview prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Mbappe said:
“The advantage we have in Europe is that we play among ourselves with high-level matches all the time, such as the Nations League for example.”
“When we arrive at the World Cup, we are ready, whereas Brazil and Argentina do not have this level in South America. Football is not as advanced as in Europe. That’s why at the last World Cups, it was always the Europeans who won.”