Mbappé at odds with Zidane and France squad, captaincy in question

Deep tensions are said to be fracturing the France squad between Kylian Mbappé on one side, and Zinédine Zidane along with a large part of the dressing room on the other. Broadcaster Cyril Hanouna, who claims to have internal sources, detailed this information on his show Tout Beau Tout N9uf on W9.

According to him, the conflict erupted during the September gathering and has not eased since. Mbappé allegedly took it very badly to be deployed on the left against Turkey, with Zidane preferring to give the central role to Ousmane Dembélé. Withdrawn through injury in Izmit, the Real Madrid striker reportedly left immediately for Spain without returning to the hotel. “He had his jet ready to leave,” Hanouna claims.

A similar scenario nearly repeated itself before the Italy-France match, which Mbappé missed due to a hamstring issue. The striker allegedly planned to return to Madrid, with a private jet already on standby in Paris. Zidane, informed of this, reportedly stopped him: “No, you stay here, you’re going to play against Turkey on Sunday.” After Les Bleus’ defeat at San Siro (1-3), the manager had indeed stated in a press conference: “I hope he’ll be ready for Sunday. That was the plan, for him to rest because he was a bit affected.”

The rift extends beyond the coaching staff. Since Mbappé’s media campaign for the Ballon d’Or, a good portion of the dressing room has distanced itself. “The majority of players have sided with Ousmane Dembélé,” Hanouna indicates, describing two clearly defined camps within the group. “The pro-Mbappé supporters can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The others are all behind Dembélé. Zidane likes Dembélé a lot — he’s a guy who always behaves very well, he’s never had a problem with anyone.”

The relationship between Mbappé and Zidane is said to be structurally different from the one the captain had with Didier Deschamps. “Deschamps would talk with Mbappé, but with Zidane, there’s no discussion. The star is Zidane. The boss is not Mbappé,” the broadcaster sums up, adding that Zidane “is starting to have had enough of him.”

The question of the captain’s armband is now reportedly on the table. According to Hanouna, Zidane is considering removing it from Mbappé, although for now it remains with him.