Kylian Mbappe admits he will be hurting for a while after France's World Cup campaign ended with heartbreak.
He has posted a lengthy statement saying France fans probably deserved a 'better ending' than the 2-0 defeat by Spain in the semi-finals and the 6-4 lashing by England in the third-place game.
Mbappe, 27, won the Golden Boot with 10 goals and is now the most prolific man in World Cup history with 22.
The Real Madrid star captained his country through the final tournament of manager Didier Deschamps, who has stepped down after 14 years in charge.
Mbappe is currently on holiday but in the coming weeks he will link up with new manager Jose Mourinho as Madrid aim to take back the LaLiga title, which they haven't won since 2024.
Penning the 520-word message, Mbappe insisted that gratitude and pride were major emotions for him. He wrote: 'Thank you.
A month of emotion. Of pushing beyond our limits. Of pride in wearing the colors of France. And above all, of passion: the same passion that drives us on the pitch and that drives you, whether you were watching from home or cheering in the stands. That's what we experienced together. An incredible story.
'We're not bringing a collective trophy home. It hurts, and it will hurt for a while. I won't pretend otherwise. I'm proud to have won the Golden Boot, but it would have meant far more with the World Cup beside it. Maybe we owed you a better ending. But we don't always get to choose how the story ends. We do get to choose what we put into it, and we gave it everything. That much we can be proud of.
'Thank you to my teammates. Without their work, their runs, their passes, without the spirit that carried us from the first match to the last, I could never have scored so many goals. This award belongs to the team as much as it belongs to me. As a kid, I dreamed of playing in a World Cup. Just one. I've now played in three, won one, and this year I've had the immense honor of captaining my country. I will never forget it.
'So many of you stayed up late, some of you deep into the night, to watch us play an ocean away. You gathered at home, in bars, with family and friends, in France and far beyond it. Others were there with us in the stadiums, draped in the French flag. Children with stars in their eyes. Men and women of every background and every generation, united by the simple joy of sharing the moment.
'You never stopped believing in us. Not in the hardest moments. Not even when we deserved it least. This story was written by millions of hands, not just by the eleven on the field, all of them carried by the same passion.
'And I've already said to Didier what I needed to say. He knows. Thank you to him, to his entire staff, to the physios, the chefs, the fitness coaches, the drivers, and to everyone working behind the scenes whom no one ever sees and without whom none of this would have been possible. And thank you to everyone who welcomed us and supported us across the United States.
'At its heart, football is still a game. A game we take very seriously, one we spend a lifetime trying to master, but a game all the same, and it still comes down to what it came down to when we first started playing: a ball, a goal, and the desire to score. That's why it brings us together the way it does.
'This World Cup has come to an end, but the story goes on. There will be other matches, other nights in summer and in winter when we'll all come together again over this same game, with the same undiminished excitement. Our journey together is far from over.
'Thank you for everything. Kylian Mbappe.'
As part of the post, he shared a photo of himself as a child in front of posters of Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, and Thierry Henry.
Mbappe has, at least, been able to enjoy his time off after the World Cup.
Just hours after France's loss to England, Mbappe was out on the town in Miami at the LIV Nightclub inside the city's famous Fontainebleau hotel.
He was joined by his girlfriend, Spanish actress Ester Exposito, and a group of friends at a private table.
The pair had enjoyed a dinner at Papi Steak shortly before, and while at the club they enjoyed Cloonee's set from a private table, opting to stay out of the limelight.
Photos of the couple surfaced after Mbappe quickly deleted an Instagram story showing Exposito in a hotel room as she wore his full kit.
Exposito posed wearing the jersey and shorts of the French goalscorer – as well as the captain's armband.
The photo was very quickly deleted, but not before it had made its way to his story and circulated around the internet.
They have also been seen aboard a boat together.
They were also seen enjoying a meal after Exposito's native Spain won their second World Cup title by defeating Argentina 1-0.
At the time, there was no public confirmation that the two were dating. However, rumors had persisted since the spring when Exposito attended one of Mbappe's matches at Real Madrid in March.
The two were later spotted on a bowling date in Paris in April and on a yacht outing in Italy in May.
Exposito previously admitted to having mixed emotions when Spain and France met in the semifinals, telling a reporter: 'That's a difficult choice for me'.