Kylian Mbappé's representatives deny reports of rape allegations

Rape allegations against French national team captain and Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappé are “completely false” and “a defamatory rumor,” his representatives said on Tuesday, after media reported that charges against him stem from an incident in a Stockholm hotel an investigation was launched Thursday.

Swedish prosecutors confirmed in a statement responding to media coverage that an investigation had been opened into an alleged rape at a hotel in central Stockholm, but did not identify a suspect.

Swedish public broadcaster SVT and daily newspapers Expressen and Aftonbladet reported, citing unnamed sources, that 25-year-old Mbappe was a suspect in the case.

“A new defamatory rumor is starting to send the internet into a frenzy,” said a statement sent to Reuters by Mbappe's representatives at the public relations firm Patricia Goldman. “These allegations are completely false and irresponsible, and their dissemination is unacceptable.”

“Kylian Mbappé will under no circumstances tolerate his integrity, reputation and honor being tarnished by unfounded allegations.”

“We don’t know who the complaint is against, I don’t know if the complaint is against him,” Mbappé’s lawyer Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard told French television channel TF1 on Tuesday.

“He is never alone, he is never exposed to a risky situation. It is completely impossible that there could have been any reprehensible behavior on his part. It is an absolute certainty. He is calm but amazed by the media hype. That’s what he does.” I don’t understand what he can be accused of.

“He did nothing wrong,” Canu-Bernard said, adding that Mbappé would cooperate with the Swedish justice system if he were directly targeted by an investigation.

Mbappé posted a link to a French media report on the subject on X and wrote: “Fake news!!!!”

Mbappé was on a private trip to the Nordic country's capital with a group of friends last week, Swedish media reported.

Mbappé and his friends left Sweden on Friday. Expressen and Aftonbladet reported that an unknown victim reported the allegations against Mbappé to the police the following day.

“In response to media reports of a suspected rape in Stockholm, the public prosecutor can confirm that a criminal complaint has been filed with the police,” Swedish prosecutors said in a statement on Tuesday.

Reuters could not independently confirm the victim's identity or the circumstances of the alleged attack.

Senior prosecutor Marina Chirakova declined further comment when reached by Reuters.

SVT and Expressen, citing unnamed sources, reported that the suspicion leveled by investigators against Mbappé was “well-founded” – the lower of the two levels in the Swedish legal system. The higher level of “probable suspicion” is usually required for a suspect to be held in custody.

Mbappé trained with his Real Madrid teammates on Tuesday. The club did not immediately respond when asked whether it was aware of the investigation and whether it had been contacted by Swedish authorities.