Ballon d'Or, ignored messages: cold war between Mbappé and Dembélé takes hold

Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé are barely speaking anymore. Brought together at the France squad gathering at Clairefontaine ahead of the Italy match, the two France attackers are experiencing an unprecedented relationship crisis, fed by contradictory public statements surrounding the Ballon d’Or race.

The origins of the tension trace back to recent media appearances by Mbappé, in which the France captain claimed to have exchanged with Dembélé and ruled out any tension between them. A version immediately contradicted by the PSG player’s entourage: no real exchange would have taken place before or during the gathering, except for a message sent by Mbappé… that went unanswered.

At a press conference at Stade de France on Thursday, Dembélé attempted to downplay the matter. “These are minor squabbles, I’m not focused on that. We’ve exchanged, we’re sitting next to each other at the table, there’s no issue,” said the France vice-captain, 29. A conciliatory statement that struggles, however, to mask a more tense reality.

According to L’Équipe’s information, Mbappé measured at Clairefontaine the extent of a resentment to which he was unaccustomed. The Real Madrid star apparently believed, wrongly, that the incident would dissipate quickly. Habits within the squad have also shifted: the Madrid attacker has drawn closer to Michael Olise, far from the complicity he maintained with the former Rennes player.

In both camps, some now believe this sequence will leave lasting marks. Despite surface-level efforts to preserve France squad cohesion, a genuine cold war has settled between the two men, just days before the Ballon d’Or ceremony.