Mbappé and Dembélé reunited with France as Zidane's entourage confirms rift

Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé reunited at Clairefontaine on Monday for France’s first squad gathering under Zinedine Zidane, but their relationship has visibly changed. A member of the French delegation confirms a chill between the two forwards, following several weeks of public barbs exchanged in the press.

It all started with Mbappé’s media campaign for the 2026 Ballon d’Or. The Real Madrid forward multiplied interviews to defend his candidacy, proclaiming himself the best player of last season and not sparing his rivals, including Dembélé. The Paris Saint-Germain winger responded with his own subtle jabs, creating palpable tension ahead of the gathering.

On site, the two players continue to sit next to each other at table, speak to one another and work together professionally. But for those who have known them for a long time, something has changed. “If you look without paying attention, you see they’re still sitting next to each other at table, that they’re talking,” testified a delegation member. “But if you look closely, you see there’s a chill. When they saw each other again at the château, we understood right away. There’s something between them, it’s not like before anymore.”

This observation aligns with that made by several observers close to the group: “There is now a distance between the two men. And simply speaking of distance is starting to look like an understatement. No open clash then, no rupture, but a relationship that seems to have changed.”

For now, Zinedine Zidane and his staff do not consider the situation “concerning”. The first match of this gathering is played in Turkey, and the question of whether this tension will affect the group’s dynamic remains open if the chill were to persist.