Mbappé sweeps aside tensions with Dembélé on France arrival

Kylian Mbappé dismissed any rift with Ousmane Dembélé on Monday upon his arrival at the Clairefontaine training centre, where the France squad is gathering for the next Nations League international break.

The exchange had begun a few days earlier. In a lengthy interview with France Football, the Real Madrid striker had stated: “He (Dembélé) has always been seen as a talented player. Me, I’ve always been seen as the chosen one.” The words were poorly received by the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner, who responded after PSG’s victory at Brest: “I’ve always been at the back of the class working hard. Throughout my entire career, I haven’t said a word, I’ve worked enormously. As I said, I was never the chosen one but I worked and last year I was rewarded for a fantastic year with Paris SG.”

Faced with multiplying interpretations of these statements, Mbappé chose to cut short the debate upon his arrival at Clairefontaine. “I’ve already spoken to him about it, there are no tensions, I think there aren’t really any problems about that, I’m really very relaxed,” he said. He also downplayed the scale of the debate: “After, during Nations League and France periods, you always have to find a debate and I think that one was well found.”

The two players, who describe themselves as friends off the pitch, will nevertheless be closely watched during their next joint training sessions, as their respective statements had suggested some unease around the question of recognition and status within French football.