Mbappe breaks silence on Lee Kang-in tackle controversy: 'I'll keep my thoughts to myself'

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe has spoken out about the controversy surrounding a rough tackle by his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Lee Kang-in of Atletico Madrid.

Speaking to Spanish outlet AS after the Madrid derby on Tuesday (Korean Standard Time), Mbappe said: "We took a step back. It was really difficult. We wanted to win, and we knew what kind of match it was going to be. There is still a lot of the season left, and we have to keep moving in the right direction."

When asked about refereeing decisions, Mbappe said he had never been one to talk much about referees and did not want to start now.

He went on to say: "Of course I have my own thoughts. But I'll keep them to myself — and I will continue to do so. Referees are human and they make mistakes. There were actual mistakes, but I don't want to talk about that."

Real Madrid lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid on Sunday in the seventh round of the 2026-27 La Liga season at Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain.

Lee started on the right wing and played close to the full 90 minutes, drawing attention when he was seen exchanging words with Mbappe before and after the match.

The biggest talking point of the game, however, came from an unexpected moment. In the 45th minute of the first half, Lee made a heavy challenge on Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde as he attempted to stop a dribble. The referee did not produce a card, but some argued the tackle was a reckless, late attempt.

Manager Jose Mourinho raised the issue after the match, printing out a still image of the incident to make his case.