Growing tensions among the Blues, Mbappé isolated against Dembélé
A month after cutting short the previous gathering because of a knee injury, the captain of the French team, Kylian Mbappé, finds himself again at the centre of all attention, both for his positioning on the pitch and for his status within the group.
Tense relations with Dembélé
According to L’Équipe, the relationship between Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé has cooled markedly in recent weeks, mainly on the sidelines of the Ballon d’Or campaigns. Mbappé is said to have contacted the Parisian on WhatsApp to ease the tensions, but Dembélé remained silent, a reaction deemed disproportionate and misunderstood by the captain of the French team.
Usually surrounded by his close guard – Dembélé, Marcus Thuram, Amine Olise and Mohamed Cherki – the Madrid native appears today more isolated. Marcus Thuram's withdrawal deprives Mbappé of a key conduit in the dressing room, and his recent attempts at rapprochement have been perceived with distrust by part of the group.
Mbappé and Dembélé rift leaves France squad uneasy after Ballon d’Or
Coach Zinedine Zidane must reorganise the offensive play after the injury withdrawals of Aurélien Tchouaméni, Pierre Kalulu (replaced by Saël Kumbedi) and Marcus Thuram (supplanted by Eli Kroupi). In Ousmane Dembélé's absence, the French coach is considering fielding Kylian Mbappé alone as the central striker rather than on his usual left flank. This axial repositioning will force the captain of the French team to deliver top‑level performances to reaffirm his natural leadership on the pitch.
WhatsApp stalemate fuels tension between Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé