France: relationship between Zinédine Zidane and Mbappé has taken a hit, revelations emerge

More is coming to light about Mbappé’s situation with Les Bleus

Europe Today at 05:20

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France: relationship between Zinédine Zidane and Mbappé has taken a hit, revelations emerge

12.11.26 14:45 UEFA Nations League A

Italy

France

We already knew that Kylian Mbappé’s relationship with several Les Bleus players, including Ousmane Dembélé, had been complicated lately. The same may be true of his relationship with head coach Zinédine Zidane.

When announcing his second squad, Zinédine Zidane offered an interesting first insight into his plans for Kylian Mbappé. Having missed most of the matches during the last international break because of a knee injury, the Real Madrid striker will be under close scrutiny.

Mbappé and his problems with Dembélé

Indeed, tensions have reportedly flared within the France squad in recent months. According to L’Equipe, Kylian Mbappé is somewhat isolated. His relationship with Ousmane Dembélé has deteriorated. And that’s not all: the Real Madrid player’s relationship with his head coach is also reportedly far from ideal.

🚨 AMBIANCE GLACIALE AUTOUR DE KYLIAN MBAPPÉ CHEZ LES BLEUS ! 🇫🇷😬 Selon L'Équipe, le capitaine tricolore traverse un rassemblement sous haute tension : 👉 Clash avec Dembélé : silence radio d'Ousmane, qui n'a même pas répondu à son message WhatsApp. 👉 Plus isolé : sans son relais Thuram (forfait), son attitude divise dans le vestiaire. Zinédine Zidane compte l'aligner seul en pointe face à l'Italie pour calmer la tempête ⚽️
— Foot Mercato (@footmercato) November 10, 2026

Zidane and Mbappé: what’s going wrong

Still according to L’Equipe, the relationship between Zinédine Zidane and Kylian Mbappé is far less “harmonious” than the one the Bondy-born forward had with Didier Deschamps. It stems first of all from a tactical decision by Zidane during the match against Turkey. The France captain had not understood why he was positioned on the left and Dembélé in the middle during the last international break, and Zidane realized this. “During this camp, he will be able to play in his preferred position, up front,” the coach said when announcing his squad.

The other issue is that the two men have barely communicated recently. The sports daily adds that the striker and the coach had hardly spoken during the camp before the Bondy-born forward left for Madrid because of his injury.

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Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.