Rami defends Mbappé and Dembélé, lashes out at journalists over Ballon d'Or controversy

Adil Rami has broken his silence to defend Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, whose pointed exchanges over the Ballon d’Or have been fueling the press for several days. The former defender, crowned world champion with the two forwards in 2018, posted a scathing message on Threads directed at journalists.

The controversy escalated after Jérôme Rothen claimed that Mbappé had taken Dembélé’s comments about him “very badly” and was experiencing the situation as “a betrayal”. Rothen also raised the possibility of two factions forming during the next France national team gathering, the first under new coach Zinédine Zidane.

Rami flatly rejects this interpretation. “Don’t you think you’re exaggerating about Mbappé and Dembélé’s statements? It’s crazy, these journalists obsessed with false controversies. Be strong and less manipulable, friends,” he wrote. He then hardened his tone in a second message: “To all journalists with your ‘according to sources’, some of you are just malicious as hell… Towards the players, the families and at the same time you manipulate your readers who certainly don’t deserve that. Bunch of assholes.”

The former French international, who shared the France dressing room with the two stars during the World Cup triumph in Russia, believes that the friendship between Mbappé and Dembélé is not in danger and that the media is artificially amplifying a minor disagreement.

The Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place on October 26 in London. Until then, the saga is likely to continue, especially as the France national team gathering approaches and the two players will inevitably find themselves together in the same shirt.