Former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has ignited a political firestorm days before Spain’s World Cup semifinal against France, after writing that the French squad plays “without Frenchmen” — a remark widely condemned as racist by officials in both countries.

Rajoy, who led Spain’s conservative government from 2011 to 2018, made the comment in his latest World Cup column for the outlet El Debate, where he has been offering commentary after each Spanish match at the tournament. Previewing Tuesday’s semifinal against Didier Deschamps‘ side, Rajoy acknowledged France fields a “top-tier squad” that has won every match so far, but added the qualifier that they were doing so without Frenchmen — an apparent reference to the number of players with immigrant backgrounds or family ties to former French colonies.

The claim doesn’t hold up statistically. Of the 26 players on France’s World Cup roster, only three were actually born outside the country: Michael Olise, born in London to a British-Nigerian father and French-Algerian mother; Marcus Thuram, born in Parma while his father, French football legend Lilian Thuram, was playing there; and Brice Samba, born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Star forward Kylian Mbappé, despite having an Algerian mother, was born and raised in France.

The remark drew swift condemnation. Ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party lawmaker José Cepeda called it “racist and xenophobic” on Spanish television and said it was shameful for a former head of government to speak that way.

In France, Equality Minister Aurore Bergé posted on social media that repeated racist outbursts targeting the team were intolerable and called for sports to be judged on talent alone. French Communist Party secretary Fabien Roussel went further, demanding Rajoy face consequences and drawing a parallel to a separate incident involving a Paraguayan politician’s comments about Mbappé, which prompted Paris prosecutors to open an investigation for aggravated public insult.

The controversy lands at a politically charged moment: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is due in Paris on Tuesday for Bastille Day, the same day the two nations meet in Dallas for their semifinal. It also revives a long-running debate in French politics over the makeup of the national team, echoing arguments made in the late 1990s by Jean-Marie Le Pen’s National Front, which claimed France’s multicultural, immigrant-heavy squads didn’t represent the “real” France — claims that were broadly rejected as racist at the time and have resurfaced periodically since.

Neither Rajoy nor his column’s publisher had issued a public response to the criticism as of Sunday.

Kylian Mbappé calmed fears over his fitness after limping off late in France’s 2-0 World Cup quarterfinal win over Morocco on Thursday in Foxborough, Massachusetts, insisting the injury is nothing serious ahead of Tuesday’s semifinal.

The moment came in the 77th minute, with France already up two goals, when Mbappé went to ground clutching his leg and asked to come off, making way for Jean-Philippe Mateta. Cameras later caught him on the bench with ice wrapped around his right ankle, prompting a wave of concern among fans. He addressed it directly afterward, telling reporters he’d taken a knock to the ankle but was fine, adding that Mateta was in better shape to handle the final stretch.

Speaking separately to French broadcaster M6, he echoed the same message, saying he was doing well despite the knock. Coach Didier Deschamps confirmed his captain had some ankle pain but downplayed the severity, calling it nothing serious.

The injury appeared to stem from a second-half sequence in which Mbappé spun away from Morocco defender Issa Diop, a former France youth teammate, who caught him with a hard challenge. It capped an eventful night for Mbappé, who missed a first-half penalty saved by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou before scoring in the 60th minute to draw level with Lionel Messi atop the tournament’s scoring chart with eight goals each. His assist on Ousmane Dembélé‘s goal six minutes later gave France a cushion.

Mbappé has now posted double-digit goal involvements in consecutive World Cups, a feat no other player has managed since 1966, and his 11 combined goals and assists this tournament are the most by any player since Gerd Müller in 1970.

The result sends France to a third straight World Cup semifinal, where they’ll face the winner of Friday’s Belgium-Spain quarterfinal on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas. Mbappé, who described a lingering friendship with Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi, his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate, said there was no sentiment on the pitch during the match itself but expected the emotion of facing him to hit once they reunited in the locker room.

Mbappé was seen celebrating with teammates and fans on the field minutes after the final whistle, showing no visible signs of discomfort.

Last summer, Mbappé was in the news when he sued his club, PSG, for “moral harassment.”

Ethan Mbappé, the younger brother of the famous forward Real Madrid soccer player, Kylian Mbappé, is making his own career outside his brother’s shadow. The midfielder plays for Lille FC.

The brothers Mbappé played together for Paris Saint-Germain in 2024. Their contracts ended in the summer of 2024, and each brother went their separate way.

Kylian went to play as a forward with Real Madrid and is known for his speed and his skills on the field.

Ethan went to play as a midfielder for Lille. In the 2025-2026 season, Ethan has played four games, scoring two goals.

Ethan scored his first goal of the season against Toulouse Football Club, and his second goal was against PSG.

This last goal with PSG was special because it was the team where Ethan first debuted, back in 2023, at the age of 16.

“My dream of facing my brother in the Champions League is distant, but it has not disappeared,” Ethan said on social media.

His time with Lille was cut short during the 2024-2025 season due to injuries, but Ethan has since recovered and is now ready for more.

At only 18 years old, Ethan has a bright future ahead, and can one day fulfill his dream to play against his brother.

Kylian Mbappé has accused Paris Saint-Germain of moral harassment in a legal filing, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed on Tuesday.

The Real Madrid star is at odds with his former club, arguing PSG owes him €55 million ($61 million) in unpaid wages.

Mbappé is also unhappy with the way he was treated by the Ligue 1 club when he was sidelined before the 2023-24 season, following his decision not to extend his club contract.

The prosecutor’s office said Mbappé is “denouncing the ‘lofting’ he claimed to have been subjected to at Paris Saint-Germain.”

The word lofting is used in France to describe a practice that involves isolating or leaving a player out of the main squad for sporting, administrative or disciplinary reasons.

Mbappé joined Real Madrid last summer on a free transfer after scoring a club-record 256 goals in seven years at PSG, who won the Champions League without him this year.

Mbappé’s relationship with PSG ended amid deep tension, with some fans booing him in his last home game at Parc des Princes.

PSG felt let down by Mbappé after offering him the most lucrative contract in club history when he signed in 2022, but Mbappé was reportedly frustrated because he felt that promises to sign key players had not been kept. When he signed in 2022, he was paraded in front of fans holding up a jersey with 2025 on it.

Mbappé was reportedly annoyed because the contract was only until 2024, with a player’s option for an extra season.

Mbappé stunned PSG in June 2023 by informing the club he would not take the option for an extra year. With his contract effectively entering its final year, PSG found itself in a position where it needed to sell Mbappé’s contract to avoid losing him for free when the contract expired.

After telling the club he would not extend his contract, Mbappé was left out of the squad for a preseason tour to Japan and South Korea and was forced to train away from the first team. PSG said they would rather move him than let him leave for free in 2024, but he rejected a €300m ($351.4 million) move to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal.

PSG left Mbappé out of the opening league game of that season, but he soon returned to the lineup following talks with the club.

Mbappé’s legal team stated in April that it would take action against PSG for harassment due to the way he was treated at the time.