Ousmane Dembélé is not playing the game. Asked at Clairefontaine on Thursday about a supposed fallout with Kylian Mbappé, the France forward refused to take the bait.
“I’m not going to comment on all of these stories; I don’t want to comment on them. These are little squabbles on social media. At 29 years old, I am not commenting on it. I am focused on what is happening on the pitch.”
The row sprang from a France Football interview in which Mbappé, now at Real Madrid, drew a sharp line between his own path and Dembélé’s.
“He has always been seen as a talented player; I have always been seen as the chosen one.”
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Dembélé’s reply, on Ligue 1 Plus, was pointed without being hostile.
“I have always been at the back of the class, working hard. In my whole career, I haven’t said a word. I have worked a lot. As I said, I was never the chosen one, but I worked and, last year, I was rewarded for a fantastic year with PSG, and this year, we will see, without pressure, calm.”
‘Next to each other at the table’
At the Nations League camp, Dembélé insisted the two had already dealt with the matter in person. Speaking to Get Football News France, he pointed to the France squad’s seating arrangement.
“We have spoken. We are next to each other at the table. There isn’t a problem.”
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Mbappé is not at the camp. He left the France squad with a knee injury after scoring the winner against Turkey on 25 September, ruling him out of this international window.
Ballon d’Or on 26 October
The timing matters. The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony is set for Monday 26 October at the London Palladium, the 70th edition of the award and the first time it has been staged in London. Dembélé is defending the title he won last year after PSG’s treble; Mbappé is still chasing a first.
Dembélé wore the France armband in Mbappé’s absence and, in comments carried by AP via Yahoo Sports, kept his message about his teammate warm.
“He’s scored an enormous amount of goals. When he’s here we’re very happy because he brings something extra. But we’re a team and the 23 players involved are important. We don’t win with one, two, or three players.”
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France play Italy at the Stade de France on Friday, Zinédine Zidane’s first home fixture since taking charge of Les Bleus.
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