Can the race for the Ballon d’Or get the better of the great cohesion perceived so far in the French team’s locker room? While the promises are great with the arrival at the helm of a long-awaited Zinédine Zidane, the tricolor varnish is cracking and the collective threatens to shatter. A real waste.
At the origin of this earthquake, the real promotional campaign of Kylian Mbappé, a readily declared candidate for the famous golden sphere. A self-centered approach which may have upset some of his compatriots and selection companions, starting with the reigning Ballon d’Or, Ousmane Dembélé.
“ Ousmane Dembélé took it very badly, that’s for sure, he was very angry with Kylian Mbappéconfirms this Monday evening on RMC Jérôme Rothen. It’s a form of betrayal for him. The words are strong but that’s exactly how he takes it. And it’s not just him! There is Ousmane’s entire entourage, the people who are in the locker room with Ousmane at PSG… »
A tricolor locker room now divided in two
The former PSG player develops his remarks by broadening the subject to all of the Blues. “ There are also teammates from the France team. The feeling we had at the World Cup is revealed all the more today. There are a lot of players who have difficulty with Kylian Mbappé’s behavior and his statements, that’s the reality. He alienated a lot of people within the France group. The World Cup happened as it did, so it’s certain that when you finish top scorer and you have exemplary behavior, which was the case with Kylian at the World Cup, that somewhat attenuates all the criticism that there may be within the group. But these kinds of statements will do him a disservice. »
And Jérôme Rothen concludes: “ I am told that there are many players from the French team who do not understand, once again, all his statements, who are more in the Dembélé team than the Mbappé team. It’s the same team, but apparently there are two teams now. Ousmane, who is much more unifying than Kylian, has often played a role with certain players of the France team. I would love to be a little mouse and see the handshake between Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé at the next gathering. I think the walls will shake a little. »
