Not only has Kylian Mbappe been eliminated from the Champions League, but he has also been eliminated from Ligue 2 at this point.
At the quarterfinal stage of the European competition, Arsenal sent the megastar player from Real Madrid packing, and now the SM Caen team that he co-owns is no longer competing in France’s professional competitions.
The relegation of Caen to the semi-professional National 1 third-tier was officially confirmed on Friday night when they suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Martigues.
Despite the fact that there are still three games to be played, the Normandy team has declared that they have fallen out of the top two professional divisions in France for the first time since 1984.
As a result of having the poorest defensive record in the division, Caen only won five times throughout the whole season and should have been eliminated.
But according to the supporters, Mbappe, who is also a co-owner of the team, should shoulder part of the responsibility.
The ultras unfurled a banner that said, “Management, players: all guilty, all out.” The flag was shown during the full-time break.
There was another one that stated, “Malherbe is us, the s*** is you,” which was a reference to the entire name of the team, which is Stade Malherbe Caen.
Due to the fact that his family’s business, Interconnected Ventures, purchased a controlling 80 percent stake in the team in September 2024, this is not the first time that fans have pointed the finger of blame at Mbappe for the difficulties that the team has been experiencing.
The summer transfer window resulted in a disastrously disorganised situation for the squad, which was attacked by both agents and players, notably Romain Thomas, who is the captain of the club.
“It was the first time I’d experienced an off-season like that,” he said prior to the beginning of the season.
In the locker room, there was always this slightly tense vibe that persisted throughout the day. Not a single participant received any reassurance on their own circumstances. At some point, everyone appeared to be preoccupied with their own thoughts.
It was inevitable that such a terrible performance would lead to poor results, and as it became apparent that relegation was one of the possibilities, the fans turned their backs on their absent owner.
There were a number of various banners that were shown both before and after the new year began. The most prominent of these banners stated, “Mbappe, SMC is not your toy.” Another banner read, “Before wanting to shine internationally, respect the local figures.”
Things became even more peculiar in January when the club president that they placed, Ziad Hammoud, stated in an interview that the project will commence for the 2025/26 season, which will now be in the third division. This was despite the fact that the Mbappes were still not present.
After Mbappe scored a hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League, he finally found time in his hectic schedule to visit the club’s training site in February. This was after he had been playing for the club for quite some time.
Nevertheless, he was subjected to more criticism in Caen, where banners were displayed outside the stadium that said, “Hammoud resign.” Are you still around?’ In addition, “Fayza,” who is Mbappe’s mother and agent, as well as “the rednecks,” who are the club’s moniker, are in a major mess.”
In fact, it’s not just the supporters either, with captain and top scorer Alexandre Mendy even hinting to bad management ahead of the run-in.
After the team suffered a loss against Paris FC by a score of 4-2 at the beginning of April, he stated, “It’s a reflection of our season.”
I am speaking for myself, but when you begin a new season with the wrong vibe, everyone is aware of what transpired during this transfer window for a number of players, and this is what it appears to be like now.
We are going to fight till the very end, but we will only get what we have sown.
