Mbappe's nightclubbing trip, unfortunate timing being on the day that Griezmann left the national team, and it quickly became epic. The fallout in France was such that Deschamps had to defend Mbappe with an unusual level of strength: "If he was there, that means the club is ok with it. 

That was lousy timing, of course. Yet Mbappe was just ostentatiously ignoring an unimportant national team match. Is that not what we want? That the big players rest more, risk fewer superfluous injuries, and are at their best in the matches that matter most. Should that not be what one would want for Barcelona's Pedri and Gavi, say?

As it turned out- no. Missing a national team match predictably turns his own country against a player, that's why it's so hard to find a good solution: quietly skipping the matches, staying home on a day off so as not to offend anyone, miss not national team matches, but cup matches for a club that pays money? It's complicated.

Rest and recovery are crucial for top players. It's a delicate balance between club and country commitments. Mbappe's situation highlights the challenges they face.