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Kylian Mbappe is hoping his recent move to Real Madrid will take his already brilliant on-pitch career to new heights, but the French superstar has found himself in trouble off the pitch in recent months.

In an ideal world, the 25-year-old former Paris Saint-Germain striker would have been able to fully concentrate on settling in in Madrid after moving to the Spanish capital on a five-year deal in the just-ended summer.

Instead, as well as being hampered by fitness problems, Mbappe is embroiled in a bitter financial dispute with his old club and is now being named as a suspect in a rape investigation, according to reports in Sweden.

Mbappe has dismissed those reports as “fake news” and hopes to win his battle with PSG over what he says is 55 million euros ($60 million) in outstanding wages and bonuses from last season.

Still, the negative headlines are a blow to the player’s image and weaken some of the aura surrounding a young man who has become an icon in his home country and a global sports superstar.

When Mbappe appeared at Monaco as a teenager almost a decade ago, he stood out for his precocious talent but also his remarkable communication skills.

Rather than being alarmed by the media spotlight, Mbappe was visibly comfortable in front of the cameras and spoke with the maturity and confidence of someone much older than himself.

He was a World Cup winner at 19 and later became the all-time top scorer at PSG, the boy’s local club from Bondy in the Paris suburbs.

In March 2023, just months after scoring a stunning hat-trick in France’s World Cup final loss to Lionel Messi’s Argentina, he was named captain of the national team by coach Didier Deschamps.

It seemed a natural decision given his status in the team and the country in general, but his position as captain meant the decision to sideline him for UEFA Nations League games in France this month was controversial.

Mbappe suffered a hamstring injury at the end of September, a minor problem but one that suggested a break would be beneficial in the long run.

“We have to put the player’s interests first without getting him into trouble,” Deschamps said of the decision, referring to Mbappe’s relationship with his new club.

But while the French sports press debated whether Mbappe’s temporary absence from the squad was justified or a sign of a lack of commitment to the French cause, the player himself traveled to Stockholm for a short break with members of his entourage.

Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet and Expressen, as well as public broadcaster SVT, have since reported that he is being investigated for rape following an alleged incident at a hotel on October 10.

A Swedish prosecutor confirmed on Tuesday that a rape investigation had been opened but did not name Mbappe.

Meanwhile, Mbappe, whose career is managed by his mother Fayza Lamari, has taken his financial dispute with PSG to a French league committee.

He is trying to recover 55 million euros, made up of several outstanding monthly salaries and a signing fee. PSG claimed he was prepared to forego it if he left on a free transfer at the end of last season.

Mbappe even suggested on Monday that there was a connection between the rape report and the dispute with his old team, with whom he spent seven years.

“It becomes as predictable as it is coincidental on the eve of the hearing,” he wrote on X on Monday.

His unfortunate divorce from PSG, which resulted in him leaving the team multiple times in the second half of last season after he announced his intention to leave, certainly contributed to a disappointing European Championship with France.

Mbappe suffered a broken nose in France’s opening game at Euro 2024 in June and scored just one goal, a penalty, in a group stage draw against Poland before Les Bleus lost in the semi-finals.

He appeared physically far from his best and is taking his time to settle in Madrid, despite scoring seven goals in his first 11 appearances.

A recent moment seemed to capture the changing attitude towards Mbappe in his home country when he was loudly booed by Lille fans when he was introduced as a substitute for Real in a Champions League game earlier this month.

Such a greeting for an opposing player may not be unusual, but it stands in stark contrast to the applause he received across France after the last World Cup.