Today was an exciting day for me. Why? Because I got to attend Real Madrid’s press conference for the Champions League! Sounds cool, right? But it’s even more special because, at these press conferences, a player usually shows up. Normally, my classmates and I would be guessing who it would be, but this time? We knew it was going to be Kylian Mbappé, especially since it was a game against Monaco.
What could possibly go wrong? Well, if you’ve read my other articles about my time in Madrid, you’ll know that things never go according to plan (which, by the way, might explain why I’m still single). And with Valentine’s Day around the corner, and Madrid being the capital of PDA… lucky me, not.
Anyway, let’s get back on track. I met up with some of my classmates and a few of my friends. One of my friends was upset because Morocco had just lost the Africa Cup, and then the chaos with Senegal was still fresh. I tried to cheer her up because, well, she was chosen to meet Mbappé before the press conference, where the mixed zone happens. She felt a bit better, but then, of course, our train wasn’t moving. We were just sitting there, waiting… and waiting… and waiting. After 15 minutes, we got an announcement, “The train is not moving.” Thanks, Captain Obvious.
By this point, I was panicking because I needed the best seats to see Mbappé up close, and let’s be real, he needed to see me too, right? A girl can dream. Anyway, after what felt like an hour, we finally arrived at our stop. Fun fact about me, I do not run. If I got chased by someone with a knife, I’d probably just stop and say, “Okay, go ahead, you’ll catch me anyway.” But somehow, my friend and I ended up running anyway. She was faster, and well, I was just trying to keep up.
We finally made it, only to find out that some of my classmates had already arrived before us. And of course, our delegate had a miscommunication, so we missed the training session. Great! I ended up sitting next to my classmate Faris, not knowing that would be the last time I’d speak to him that day. Faris had to leave the course for personal reasons, but he was the biggest Real Madrid fan I knew. The guy could answer any question about the club. He must’ve been a huge FIFA fan with all that knowledge. It’s a shame he had to leave early because he was honestly one of the nicest people in class. Why do the nice ones always leave?
During the press conference, I was shocked because Mbappé spoke amazing English and Spanish. How did I not know this? I must’ve been living under a rock. I also felt a bit bad for him because while he was sitting there answering questions, most of the journalists kept asking the same things or just repeating questions about Vinicius Jr. I get it though, journalists need juicy stories, but when you’re dealing with media-trained players like those at Real Madrid, trust me, you’re not getting anything new.
After Mbappé left, I had this moment of realisation, I might not be here next year. And even though I was just another face in the crowd at a press conference with one of the world’s best players, I felt so lucky and grateful for the experience.
Oh, and just one last thing… Mbappé, be honest, when journalists ask the same question 10 times in a row, do you ever just want to answer with “Can you STFU”?
