Thierry Henry claims 'everyone envies' France because of Kylian Mbappe's presence as he makes peace with Real Madrid's stance on 'monster' forward playing at Paris Olympics

France U21 coach Henry, who will coach the U23s at the Paris Olympics this summer, spoke highly of Mbappe as he claimed that the Paris Saint-Germain star is a "monster" on the pitch. He went on to suggest that every other team "envies" the French national team for having the superstar forward in their ranks.

Speaking to Le Parisien, Henry said: "We’re speaking about a monster here. Let’s be happy that Kylian is French. Everyone envies us. Every time I go abroad, people tell me, ‘You’re so lucky in France to have a player like him.’ Here, even if we talk about his qualities, there is always a negative remark because he lifted his little finger because he’s done this and not that. But abroad, they really envy us!"

Mbappe has expressed his desire to compete in the upcoming Olympic Games, but his proposed move to Real Madrid is likely to scupper his chances. Los Blancos have made it clear that none of their French players will be released for the tournament, with Mbappe set to join the club after his contract at PSG expires on June 1. Henry appears to have made his peace with that, as he added: "The only thing that we know about Kylian is that he’s leaving [PSG]. It doesn’t matter where he goes, but if he goes to Real, we know that they won’t let their players leave."

The 25-year-old will be next seen in action for Didier Deschamp's France side, who are scheduled to face Germany and Chile in a couple of friendly matches on March 23 and 26 respectively.