Emi Martinez has been a player who has always been in the news for his brilliant goalkeeping or either for his controversies. The Aston Villa goalkeeper recently won the World Cup and the Golden Glove with Argentina but it was marred with controversies as his ‘vulgar’ gesture and further disrespect to Kylian Mbappe took center stage.
Emi Martinez was seen holding a doll with Mbappe’s face during Argentina’s victory celebrations in Buenos Aires. The act was condemned by soccer fanbase across the world as they thought of Martinez as a disrespectful character and lashed his act.
But the Argentine goalkeeper has recently put the controversy while talking to France football and said that he respects Mbappe and thinks that the French sensation would be the one who will rule the soccer world after Lionel Messi retires.
Emi Martinez's respect for Kylian Mbappe 🔝 pic.twitter.com/CikdxnuXle
— GOAL (@goal) February 10, 2023
He said: “I had confirmation that he has immense talent. When Messi retires, I am sure Kylian will win many Ballon d’Or awards.”
Martinez faced further criticism after he made a vulgar gesture while holding the Golden Glove award in front of the Qatar Royals which was caught on camera. He has been a notorious character throughout his career as he is also known for how he gets into his opponent’s minds by taunting them just before penalty kicks.
Emi Martinez denies making fun of Kylian Mbappe
Martinez further talked about the Kylian Mbappe issue with France Football and said that it was nothing more than locker room fun. He defended chanting Mbappe’s name after the World Cup final win as the same was done by France in 2018 when used Messi’s name, he called it a part and parcel of the game.
He said: “It’s a locker room thing, It should never have come out. When France beat us in 2018, I remember there were chants about Messi. Same thing, if a team beats Brazil, they’ll be singing about Neymar.”
🗣️"How could I make fun of 🇫🇷Mbappé? He scored four goals against me! Four goals in the final… He must think I'm his dummy!"
-🇦🇷Emi Martínez pic.twitter.com/bu4JMR9fvq
— Football Talk (@FootballTalkHQ) February 12, 2023
Martinez also talked about how he had massive respect for the PSG forward Mbappe and had nothing personal towards him. He stated that it makes no sense for him to ridicule the young sensation after he put the ball four times past him in the final.
He said: “There’s nothing personal against Mbappe. I respect him a lot. 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.”
It seems like Emi Martinez has cleared the air around the controversy and termed it as nothing but locker-room fun which shouldn’t have come out and his admission of how he respects Mbappe certainly means that the Argentine didn’t mean any disrespect to the French superstar.