Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé missed the team’s most recent game in the Club World Cup amid a health scare.
“Our player Kylian Mbappé is suffering from an acute case of gastroenteritis,” the team wrote in a Thursday, June 19, statement, referring to the 26-year-old athlete. “[He] has been admitted to hospital in order to undergo a series of tests and follow the appropriate course of treatment.”
Gastroenteritis is defined as inflammation that spreads from the stomach to the intestines, causing pain, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It is often caused by an infection in the gastrointestinal tract, food poisoning or a stomach flu virus.
Further updates on Mbappé’s condition have not been shared, though he was absent from the team’s Club World Cup opener in Miami on Wednesday, June 18. According to ESPN, Mbappé hadn’t practiced with the team “in recent days.”
“Kylian felt a bit better in the morning but not enough,” head coach Xabi Alonso told reporters earlier this week, adding that Mbappé had a fever. “There’s a lot of heat. We’ll see how he feels, tomorrow we’ll decide.”
Madrid played Al-Hilal on Wednesday, which ended in a 1-1 tie.
Mbappé was a standout athlete for Madrid last year, scoring 43 goals across all of the games. He signed with the Spanish team in June 2024 after transferring from Paris Saint-Germain.
“The only thing that I wanted was to play here, at the Bernabeu, with this shirt, with the fans chanting my name, scoring goals and being happy,” he said on Spain’s La Sexta in April. “I wanted to play for Real Madrid, and it wasn’t a difficult decision to choose between Real Madrid and money. For sure, money is important to take care of my family but for me, the most important thing is being happy.”
Mbappé later denied in a statement that his comments had any “connection” to Paris Saint-Germain. The striker had previously called Madrid “the best club in the world.”
“Today was an unforgettable day for me and my family. I made my childhood dream come true. Lots of emotions,” he wrote in Spanish via Instagram in July 2024. “Thank you for the affection and love for many years. Very happy and proud to be part of the big family @realmadrid. I can’t wait to start playing for the best club in the world.”
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