Tchouameni on how Mbappe tried to convince him to join PSG: Come on, you have to come too

France coach Didier Deschamps has called up Aurelien Tchouameni, who is expected to be a starter for Les Blues in the 2022 World Cup.

Following his move to Real Madrid, the 22-year-old stands out for his maturity and strength, as well as his calmness when he is under pressure.

In an interview with L'Equipe, he discussed about his first steps into football at a very young age.

"At 11-12 years old, when I started in Bordeaux, I would play the games without eating," he said.

"Otherwise, I knew I was going to throw up because I was under a lot of pressure.

"When I started, I managed to do good things, but I lacked consistency. My agent told me: 'You have to be good everywhere but, after a while, you have to excel in one area'.

"Ligue 1 is a very physical championship. I was tall, but still not strong enough. In the duels it was a bit complicated. I worked in the gym to withstand the blows. With the video we also realized that some of my qualities, such as ball recovery, could be developed much more."

Arrival at Real Madrid

Los Blancos spent 80 million euros to lure the Frenchman to the Spanish capital, but Tchouameni does not feel the pressure of playing at the LaLiga Santander giants.

"In my head, I am made for this," Tchouameni added.

"This is my destiny. That means I've worked hard, that I've made sure I got here. Now that I'm here, what do I do? I have to earn my starting spot, I have to perform well, I have to win titles. So, I'm not here to watch."

The conversation with Mbappe

Tchouameni went on to reveal how Mbappe was trying to convince him to turn down Real Madrid's offer and join Paris Saint-Germain last summer.

"It was a very interesting conversation with Kylian," Tchouameni continued.

"He wanted to know what I was planning to do. I also asked him what he was planning to do. In June he decided he was going to stay and he was teasing me with [PSG defender Presnel] Kimpembe: 'Come on, you have to come too [to PSG]!' But my choice had already been made a long time ago. We laughed."

Tchouameni also discussed about Real Madrid's dressing room, Luka Modric's talent and Casemiro's departure.

"We are a group and we are not all here to be friends, but to respect each other and win," he noted.

"I didn't come in saying to myself: 'Okay, I have to be friends with so-and-so'.

"I'm lucky to have a lot of French speakers in the group, so the adaptation is easier.

"I can tell you that taking the ball away from Luka's feet is very difficult. When you manage to take it away from a guy like that, you can take it away from anyone.

"If Case was still here, I wouldn't play so much. Anyway, in Madrid, if you're not good, you don't play. So if I'm playing a lot of games, it means things are going well."

The Ballon d'Or

Tchouameni also revealed that one of his goals is to see his name figure in the shortlist for the Ballon d'Or in the future.

"Yes, I have a challenge with my father about that," he admitted.

"It's up to me to achieve it as soon as possible. When Karim brought his Ballon d'Or to celebrate, in my head I said to myself: 'The Bernabeu has seen a lot of Ballon d'Ors."

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