Kylian Mbappe defended over Caen purchase after angry fans of Ligue 2 strugglers hold up banners insulting Real Madrid star's mother

Mbappe and his family paid just under €20 million (£17m/$22m) to secure 80 per cent of the shares in Ligue 2 side Caen last summer. The investment, however, has not turned out to be a success as the club are currently struggling at the bottom of the French second division and are at risk of getting relegated. Caen fans have expressed their disappointment with the Real Madrid star buying a majority stake at the club earlier in the 2024/25 campaign and recently they put up banners targetting the player's mother Fayza Lamari, who is part of the consortium. One of the banners had the words, "Fayza, the hicks are in the sh*t" written on it, a direct dig at Mbappe's mother.

Club president Hammoud, however, came to the owner's defence as he told Ouest-France: "There are 13 matches left, quite a few points to take: the season is not over. It starts against Dunkirk on Monday: for us, each match is a World Cup final."

He added: "We may not have communicated enough and I accept that criticism. But to say that we are disconnected is not fair. Like the criticism of the shareholders, who are true football fans, 100% involved. They invested their personal money in a sports project linked to a strong history with this club.

"They are discreet because it is anything but a game for them, but they are active. We are all focused on the commando mission, there is no question about that."

At the start of 2025, Mbappe faced criticism after the club parted ways with manager Nicolas Seube following the club's dismal performance in the first half of the season. Portuguese coach Bruno Baltazar replaced the Frenchman at the helm, however, under his tutelage, the team have lost five consecutive matches in Ligue 2 and they now sit at rock bottom.

The French side will hope to get back to winning ways when they take on Dunkerque in a Ligue 2 clash at home.