Mbappé shocked by Swedish rape inquiry – lawyer

Swedish media said the footballer had stayed in Stockholm for two days last week, visiting a restaurant on Thursday evening before moving on to a nightclub. He was pictured walking in the centre of the capital with three other people.

Swedish prosecutors clarified on Monday that according to a “criminal report” submitted to police, the incident under investigation took place on 10 October at a hotel.

Police were seen visiting the Bank hotel he had stayed at on Monday, with officers later leaving with bags. One report said they had taken clothing from the hotel in evidence.

“The investigation is being led by senior prosecutor Marina Chirakova, external, who is unable to provide more information at this time,” the Swedish prosecution authority said.

Mbappé was not called up for the the France football team’s Uefa Nations League matches over the past week and has returned to training with his team Real Madrid.

Lawyer Petra Eklund, who is acting for the complainant in the case, has said she cannot comment on the case at the moment because of legal constraints.

However, Sweden’s SVT and other media outlets reported the allegation involved reasonable suspicion of rape, considered a lower level of suspicion under Swedish law.

Kylian Mbappé’s lawyers have condemned the media reports as defamatory, and on Tuesday night lawyer Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard appeared on the main evening news programme on TF1, saying nothing was known of the complaint or even if it had been made against her client, who she said was “stunned” by the media frenzy.

“[Kylian Mbappé] is never alone. He is never put in a position where he ends up in a situation that would lead to him taking a risk,” she insisted.