Kylian Mbappé excluded, Zinedine Zidane responds to Cyril Hanouna's remarks

Kylian Mbappé's absence for the Nations League clash between France and Italy, officially cited as a muscle discomfort, fuels the debate as Cyril Hanouna offers a very different version on his show.

On his set, the presenter claims that the sidelining of the French captain is more about a lack of desire than a physical problem. He said: « Kylian Mbappé doesn't want to play. He's not really feeling it. The match against Italy, they kind of don't care because it's the Nations League, it's not a very very important match », adding that the player supposedly said « forget it ». Hanouna then describes an electric atmosphere within the squad, noting that « it's really heating up with Kylian Mbappé in the France team group, things are going very very badly with his teammates ». He argues that the change of manager has radically altered the handling of the star, recalling that « Didier Deschamps was extremely nice to Kylian Mbappé, he allowed his whims a bit more. But Zinedine Zidane, he doesn't joke. Kylian Mbappé acted a bit like a diva, Zinedine Zidane told him: « you know what, you're not playing » ».

Cyril Hanouna accuses Didier Deschamps of sidelining Kylian Mbappé

At a press conference at San Siro, Zinedine Zidane gave a purely medical explanation, stating that the captain was suffering from a hamstring discomfort. He affirmed: « He will miss tomorrow, he felt a slight pain and we will take zero risk ». The manager emphasized that the player had chosen to stay with the group in Italy, unlike Aurélien Tchouaméni, Marcus Thuram and Pierre Kalulu, hoping to face Turkey on Sunday in Bordeaux. Finally, Zidane said: « I think he's fine. The proof is he stays with us. He wants to play on Sunday. He's not happy, what I mean is that he would have liked to play tomorrow as well », rejecting any disciplinary sanction.