Castaldi slams Mbappé for 'calamitous and ultra-aggressive' Ballon d'Or campaign

Giovanni Castaldi severely criticized Kylian Mbappé on Thursday evening, arguing that the France captain was at the root of tensions surrounding the Ballon d’Or race, rather than simply being a victim of his rivals.

The journalist covering the French national team first sought to correct the image of a close friendship between Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé. According to him, the players closest to the captain during the 2026 World Cup were more Rayan Cherki and Marcus Thuram. “They are friends, there’s no issue, but to say that within the group it was systematically Ousmane Dembélé for Kylian Mbappé, that’s not true,” he clarified, confirming in the process that a chill had indeed developed between the two men.

Castaldi then directly pointed to the Real Madrid forward’s responsibility. “I am nonetheless astounded — you mustn’t touch the chosen one, you can’t say anything about Mbappé. But the one who lights the fuse and who isn’t even capable, when he’s France captain, of not speaking condescendingly about his so-called friend, that’s Mbappé.”

For the journalist, the reactions from Lamine Yamal and other Ballon d’Or contenders are merely a direct consequence of an offensive initiated by the Bondy native. “Everything happening in the Ballon d’Or campaign, whether it’s Lamine Yamal or all the others coming out of the woodwork, they’re reacting to Mbappé’s campaign — which I find calamitous and ultra-aggressive — because he thinks this is the year or never.”

The two players are currently together with the France squad for four consecutive Ligue des Nations matches, which makes any tension within the group all the more visible.