Just days after the French National Football Team officially met with President Emmanuel Macron, they were photographed with more political leaders, with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu meeting them on Thursday. Wu, who has been the mayor of Boston since 2021, was photographed taking a selfie with French star and current captain, Kylian Mbappe, during the PR meet. The purpose of this meet was to officially welcome the French team to the city, where they have set up their base for the group matches, which are to be played at New York, Philadelphia and Boston.
Kylian Mbappe is naturally going to be the talisman for the French on the pitch, after another fantastic season at club level. Despite failing to win any silverware, Mbappe scored 25 times in LaLiga and 15 times in the UEFA Champions League for Real Madrid in the 2025/26 season. As the top goalscorer in the Spanish league, he won the Pichichi Trophy, repeating the feat from 2024/25, when he was the top scorer with 31 goals. He has been equally good on the national level as well, scoring 5 times in the World Cup Qualifiers and twice in the Nations League Finals.
Mbappe is undoubtedly the most recognized face in the French squad off the pitch as well, as evident from Michelle Wu’s, rather awkward, selfie with the 27-year-old. Days earlier, he was also photographed having a one-on-one conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, looking on at the rest of the squad from a distance. While Mbappe is the current captain of the squad, which was possibly the reason behind Macron’s preferential treatment towards him, football fans have been quick to question whether there is something more to the matter than it appears.
😭 CE DÉTAIL EST DEVENU VIRAL !!
— La Twitchance (@LaTwitchance) June 2, 2026
La manière dont Emmanuel Macron a tiré Kylian Mbappé vers l’avant pour la photo fait beaucoup réagir 😭📸
Certains internautes soulignent que Dembélé le ballon d’or se retrouvait lui plus en retrait sur le cliché. 👀💀⚽️ pic.twitter.com/VKjoj7xBDk
Reports about Mbappe’s supposed fallout with the Real Madrid dressing room earlier this year, and his possible role in the sacking of Xabi Alonso in January of 2026 have given rise to internet memes which compare him to a dictator. Throughout his club career, first at PSG and now at Real Madrid, Mbappe has supposedly been a dominating presence in the dressing room, because of which he has been given the unusual nickname. The memes have led to Mbappe often being called ‘Dictator’ or ‘Maobappe’ (comparing him to Mao Zedong) by his critics, mostly in context to how he is not the most perfect team player and can sometimes concentrate more on personal accolades.
With the star now having been photographed with two political personalities, fans on X have continued making the comparisons, with one user even joking that Boston is ‘under military occupation’.
Aside from these minor controversies, Mbappe has been as prolific as ever this season, and he has a particularly good record in the World Cup. In his debut campaign in 2018, held in Russia, he scored 4 goals, including 1 in the final against Croatia. In the 2022 World Cup Mbappe was in red-hot form, becoming the top scorer in the competition, with 8 goals. His brilliant hat-trick in the final against Argentina was almost enough to clinch the trophy, until heartbreak followed in the penalty shootouts. Now leading his country in the World Cup as a captain for the first time, Kylian Mbappe will be one of the biggest stars to look out for.
