Lloris sparks the debate over Kane's tackle on Mbappé
Already, Ousmane Dembélé's Ballon d’Or rewarded a player oriented towards the collective, as with Karim Benzema in 2022. Harry is not just a goal‑scoring machine. This is how Hugo Lloris, former captain of the French national team, described Harry Kane's profile, elected on Monday as the 2026 Ballon d’Or winner ahead of Kylian Mbappé.
Debate over Lloris's “tackle”
For some observers, the former French national team captain's words were not spoken by chance. The topic seriously sparked debate on Wednesday evening on the set of the channel L’Équipe. According to Dave Appadoo, Hugo Lloris knew exactly what he was doing when he made those remarks.
« He is far too intelligent. He knows things too well to realize that when Harry Kane is competing with Kylian Mbappé, we are not going to send Mbappé back to what he is not, that is, everything Harry Kane does. The consequence is that it is a tackle. I'm not saying he does it for that, but he knows it will cause that and he does it anyway. So in my opinion, it is not innocent. » These remarks bring back memories of the Bondynois's arrival at the French national team a few years ago. The same tone was echoed on the side of Étienne Moatti.
Bixente Lizarazu defends Harry Kane's team against Kylian Mbappé
« They were in the same French national team, but not completely in the same camp either. Hugo Lloris, that was the Olivier Giroud‑Antoine Griezmann team, and we know how it ended between that team and the Mbappé team that took power and the captaincy. » Hugo Lloris and his “tackle” of Kylian Mbappé were mentioned. For the journalist, there is therefore little doubt that it is a small tackle by the Los Angeles FC goalkeeper.
« Obviously, he doesn't say it clearly and plainly, but everyone understood. » Étienne Moatti also added a little more. « I think he doesn't have an overwhelming passion for Kylian Mbappé. I think they didn't particularly like each other, and moreover there were rifts between Mbappé and Giroud, Giroud the close friend of Hugo Lloris. » « There were rifts between Mbappé and Griezmann, Griezmann close to Giroud and Hugo Lloris. There you go. There were different camps and he tackles Mbappé and his camp. »
Hugo Lloris reignites France's feuds with a 'tackle' at Kylian Mbappé