Aurelien Tchouameni spoke to the media in the press room at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy to look ahead to the Lille-Real Madrid game on matchday two of the Champions League group stage (Wednesday, 9 pm CEST): “I've played a lot of games against Lille. They play very well, they have great players, like their goalkeeper and their striker, Jonathan David. We have to give it our all and fight with everything to win this match because it'll be tough.”

“They have a top coach, they're in Europe and they have good players. They have a great goal scorer, they're solid and they'll cause us a lot of problems tomorrow, especially in the Champions League.”

Ancelotti’s faith in him
“The manager is a very important person for me and we talk all the time about what I have to do on the pitch. It's a pleasure to work with him because he helps me a lot in terms of playing with and without the ball.”

Improvement on playing out from the back
“Kroos was a very important player for us, especially when we were playing out from the back. But we have other players now. The midfielders have more responsibility when playing out and we'll improve to win the games.”

The return of Mbappé
“Kylian has come with us and he's fine. We hope he recovers because he's an important player for us. We'd like him to play, but I don't know. We'll wait patiently for him to return.”

Griezmann’s retirement from the national team
"We're surprised that Griezmann is leaving the French national team. It's a shame that he's going to leave us and it affects us because he's so important. If that's the decision he's made, it's because it will be the best for him and I wish him all the best personally.”

Recovery from foot injury
“I'm feeling progressively better. Last season I had problems with my left foot, but thanks to the wonderful work of the doctors I managed to come back. Now, I don't feel any pain and I'm going to keep working to try to help my team.”

His responsibility with the team
“In a team, the coach has a plan in which there are players with many qualities, but you have to understand what is best for the team. It may not be the best thing for me, but my responsibility is to help the team through defending, helping in the recovery and providing more assists. In a team like Real Madrid, if you play, it's because you have the qualities. Nothing is a given here.”

Will Vini Jr. win the Ballon d'Or?
“Because of the season he had, Vini deserves it. We'll see, but Vini has a good chance of winning it.”

Importance of the clash in Lille
“It's an honour to play against Lille and I love wearing the shirt of the best club in the world, but we'll see about tomorrow. This match is important for France, for Lille and also for Madrid fans.”
 
Image of the Madrid derby around the world
“It's not a good image for football, whether in Spain, France or Brazil. We all have to solve this problem because there are a lot of people, including children, who watch the matches. All they want is to enjoy football, the spectacle and the sport.”

Reason behind shirt number change
“The number 8 was for Fede and for me the number 14. It's very important for me because it was my first number in the French national team.”

Does he feel the pressure?
“I know that as a sportsman, the press and people are going to talk. But for me, the important thing is to win trophies with my team and do what the coach tells me to do. If I listen to the press all the time, I go crazy. That's why I'm calm. The best thing is to play and win matches with Real Madrid.”

Demands of the fixture calendar
“I've already given my opinion on this. There are a lot of games this year. The problem isn't about playing a lot of games because we will rotate. The top bodies in football will have to get together to adapt the calendar to suit all of us. There needs to be a union to gain more strength and to change this. There are a lot of matches and that causes injuries. People like football a lot, but if there are no players because they're injured, it's no longer appealing.”

On what he has learnt from Kroos and Modrić
“The most important thing I've learned from them is their calmness when receiving the ball.”