PARIS.- “There is no tension” with Ousmane Dembélé, assured the captain of France, Kylian Mbappéin an interview published this Monday by L’Équipe, when asked by the sports newspaper about the aspirations of both players to win the next Ballon d’Or.
“I have already talked about this with him, there is no tension, he is a friend. There is not really a problem about it. I am really very calm. In period of Nations League and the French team, you always have to find a debate and this one is well found,” responded the player of the Real Madrid.
In an interview given to France Football magazine (organizer of the Ballon d’Or) and published on September 11, Mbappé was considered one of the favorites to obtain the most prestigious individual award in football, which will be awarded on October 26 in Londondespite not having won anything, neither with his club nor with his national team.
Without naming his teammate, this comment was understood as an attack on Dembélé, winner of the last Ballon d’Or and one of the favorites in 2026 after having won the Champions League and the Ligue 1 with the PSG.
“Some years I considered myself the best player in the world. I didn’t see any player better than me. Then, when (Lionel) Messi arrived at the ceremony and won, I said: the best player is on stage. No problem. When Cristiano (Ronaldo) won, I said the same thing,” Mbappé declared.
Regarding Dembélé, one of his great friends in the French team’s locker room, the Real Madrid player said: “He has always been seen as a talented player. I have always been seen as the chosen one. I was at the top immediately, very soon. He had a different journey, due to injuries, but he has recovered well.”
Dembélé’s response
Dembélé responded two days later before the Ligue 1+ microphones, fueling the idea of tensions between the two stars of the Bleus attack: “In my entire career, I have not said a word, I have worked a lot. As I said, I have never been the chosen one, but I have worked for it, and last year I was rewarded for a fantastic year with the Paris Saint Germain and, this year, we’ll see, without pressure, calm.”
Mbappé, Dembélé and the rest of those summoned by France for the first matches of the League of Nations will meet this Monday in Clairefontaine, on the outskirts of Paris, in what will be the first concentration with Zinedine Zidane as the new coach of the Blues.
Regarding the reunion with his childhood idol, Mbappé declared in an interview with the Spanish newspaper AS that “it’s like a movie.”
France The Nations League will begin with two games in Türkiye and Belgiumon September 25 and 28, before playing in Paris against Italy and Belgium (October 2 and 5).
