Kylian Mbappe vs Emi Martinez: PSG Star’s Reaction Spotted As Argentina Goalkeeper Wins FIFA BEST Award

Kylian Mbappe vs Emi Martinez: PSG Star’s Reaction Spotted As Argentina Goalkeeper Wins FIFA BEST Award

Martin Moses
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:26 PM
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  • Kylian Mbappe showed no emotion as Emi Martinez won the FIFA Best Goalkeeper Award
  • The Argentina keeper won the award after inspiring his nation to a World Cup triumph
  • Martinez's celebrations made headlines for his relentless trolling of the French attacker

One of the major storylines of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar was Kylian Mbappe's strong showing in the final against Argentina.

The French star made it clear once more that he was no longer the next big thing in football but the current big thing.

He only needs Lionel Messi to exit the scene first.

Kylian Mbappe, Emi Martinez, FIFA Best Award, PSG, World Cup, Lionel Messi
Kylian Mbappe walks past the World Cup trophy on December 18. Photo by Tom Jenkins.
Source: Getty Images

Mbappe vs Argentina

He almost singlehandedly won the World Cup for a French side that looked over and out in the 78th minute.

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A quickfire brace forced the game into extra time, and when Messi thought he had finally won it, Mbappe stepped up and equalised again to take the game to penalties.

Argentina finally won the game courtesy of Emi Martinez's heroics. Martinez then shocked many when he took his celebrations overboard with direct attacks on Mbappe, including mocking the French star in the dressing room and using his cutout while on parade in Bueno Aires.

For somebody who put four goals past you in one game, it was amusing to see the lengths the Aston Villa goalkeeper went to disparage Mbappe.

The offensive gesture to France's supporters with his Goalkeeper of the Tournament award is still fresh in people's minds as well.

Mbappe dour at Best Awards

Perhaps that's why Mbappe cut a stony-face image when Martinez was declared FIFA Best Goalkeeper of 2022 at the FIFA Awards in Paris on February 27.

The Frenchman was unmoved as the 30-year-old made his way to the podium to give his acceptance speech.

No goalkeeper related to Mbappe made the final shortlist as Martinez beat Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois and Sevilla's Yassine Bounou.

The difference between Mbappe's emotions and Messi's was extremely visible, but the Argentine couldn't have won the World Cup without Martinez's last-ditch save against Randal Kolo Muani in the December 18 final.

Martinez apologised to Mbappe

This comes at a time when Martinez named Mbappe 'the best French player' he had ever seen, after they crossed paths at the 2022 World Cup.

Dibu had the last laugh in an epic showdown between Argentina and France but it was his post-match antics which raised many eyebrows.

Martinez has since apologised and even revealed his respect for the PSG star, who the goalkeeper described as the best in his country.

Authors
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Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)