Why Is It Mbappé with an Accent at Real Madrid and Without an Accent in the French National Team

Kylian Mbappé is back with the French national team. The Real Madrid forward had been one of Deschamps's major absences in recent drafts.

The tension between them was evident, but it seems they have already solved their differences. They even joked upon arriving at the training camp hotel.

Now that he has returned to France, images of the footballer in international matches have raised a question among fans. Why does his jersey at Real Madrid have an accent mark, but not with the French national team?

Mbappé: With or Without an Accent Mark?

Many believe it is due to the spelling rules of each country. However, this is not the case.

Mbappé also had an accent mark when he played for Monaco and PSG. Therefore, it is not a linguistic issue.

The real reason is the FIFA and UEFA regulations. Both organizations standardize names in international characters without diacritics. That is, they remove accent marks, accents, umlauts, and the letter "Ñ".

But this rule only applies if the country desires it. Its goal is to facilitate reading in global broadcasts and avoid issues in different writing systems.

At Real Madrid, this rule doesn't apply. Both the club and Mbappé's entourage respect the correct spelling of his last name, placing the accent mark on the final "e".

Exceptions for Some Players

Some footballers do use diacritics in international tournaments. A well-known case is Luka Modrić, who retains the accent on the "c" of his last name. This is because it is not an accentuation but a letter specific to the Croatian alphabet.

The same occurs in Germany. Rüdiger and Müller have umlauts because removing them would completely change their names (for example, Müller would become Mueller). In Portugal, something similar happens with João Cancelo.

Differences Between Adidas and Nike

Another reason lies with the jersey manufacturers. Adidas respects the country's spelling and allows the use of diacritics. In contrast, Nike strictly follows FIFA and UEFA regulations, removing accent marks and umlauts.

This explains why players like Kun Agüero, Fabián Ruiz, or Gerard Piqué have played international tournaments with the accent mark on their jerseys. Meanwhile, with the French national team, Mbappé appears without it.