Mbappé and Dembélé in total breakdown as Zidane era begins with France

The relationship between Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé is “officially dead”: that is the assessment made by Spanish insider Juan Jesus, as the two forwards are set to reunite on Monday for the first France squad gathering under Zinedine Zidane.

The breaking point stems from Mbappé’s recent media statements. The Real Madrid forward first proclaimed himself “the chosen one” in the Ballon d’Or race, before claiming that certain recent winners of the trophy were not the true best players in the world — an era he says has passed since the supremacy of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. For Dembélé’s entourage, the message is unambiguous: it is a deliberate and humiliating attack aimed directly at the Paris Saint-Germain forward.

Consultant Jérôme Rothen, on RMC, confirmed the scale of the crisis: “Ousmane Dembélé took Kylian Mbappé’s comments very badly, that is certain, and he is very upset with Kylian. It is a form of betrayal.” According to Juan Jesus, the two men, who were exchanging several messages daily, did not speak over the weekend.

The warning signs of this fracture were already visible after France’s elimination by Spain in the World Cup. In a silent dressing room, Mbappé and Dembélé exchanged no words before taking separate flights.

Faced with this toxic climate, Zinedine Zidane is reportedly considering organizing a face-to-face meeting between the two players before tension spreads to the entire squad. “There are two teams in France now,” Rothen warned. The manager will have to manage this fracture from his first hours in charge of Les Bleus.