Kylian Mbappe was the recipient of a cold stare when Emi Martinez was announced as the Best Fifa Men’s Goalkeeper. The Argentina hero had mocked him after the epic World Cup final clash in Qatar, and Mbappe sat emotionless as Martinez received his award. The Aston Villa stopper had beaten out Morocco’s Sevilla keeper Yassine Bounou and Belgium’s Real Madrid No1 Thibaut Courtois to the prize.
Martinez had foiled Mbappe’s France strike-partner Randal Kolo near the end of extra time, and then saved Kingsley Coman’s shootout penalty and distracted Aurelien Tchouameni before the Real midfielder pulled his spot-kick wide. Despite this, Martinez was one of the first to console Mbappe after Argentina’s 4-2 shootout triumph following a 3-3 draw.
However, Martinez later faced a major backlash for his strange dressing-room celebrations and taunting of the beaten PSG superstar. He called for a minute’s silence for “dead” Mbappe and held up a baby doll with the frontman’s face on it, which was particularly eccentric as he was right next to Mbappe’s club-mate Lionel Messi, who did not appear to react.
Mbappe has insisted he was not bothered by the stopper’s behaviour, and Martinez has tried to rubbish claims he was trolling the pacy ace. He told France Football: “I held it [baby doll] for like two minutes and I threw it away, that’s all. How can I make fun of Mbappe? He scored four past me. Four goals in a final! He must think I am his toy baby! I have huge respect for Mbappe.”
When receiving his Fifa award, Martinez paid tribute to his hard-working parents, which warmed the hearts of others in the audience, such as Lionel Messi and Arsene Wenger. Meanwhile, Messi pipped Mbappe to be named best male player, although they were both named in the men’s best world XI.
Kylian Mbappe is often accused of diving, but no one can deny that Emi Martinez deserved his Best Fifa Men’s Goalkeeper award. The Argentina star had an incredible performance in the World Cup final, foiling Mbappe’s strike-partner Randal Kolo and saving Kingsley Coman’s penalty. Martinez also showed respect to Mbappe despite his strange post-match antics, and paid tribute to his hard-working parents when receiving his award. Despite Mbappe missing out on the best male player award, he was still named in the men’s best world XI alongside Messi.
