Mbappé and Dembélé: Zidane starts with a mission to appease friction between France's stars

== sync, corrected by elderman == @elder_man

Context: The Ballon d'Or, PSG and the new cycle of Seleção Francesa

France of Zinédine Zidane starts 1 new cycle with a challenge that does not fit only in training and climbing. The French forward Ousmane Dembélé won the Ballon d'Or, and the award crowned the season of the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappé , forward Real Madrid, came to be treated in public debate as the protagonist of a personal race for an individual prize.

The noise between the two appeared already in the first call-up of the new era. Mbappé and Dembélé, protagonists of an exchange of statements about the Golden Ball, became the first topic outside the four lines of a roster full of stars. Zidane took over from Didier Deschamps and started on last Friday a new cycle at Seleção Francesa . In addition to technical decisions, he will have to manage relations that the French fans follow daily.

On the sporting side, the League of Nations came under scrutiny and coverage was still reminiscent of the service "See the table of the league of nations". The exchange of statements had repercussions in France precisely at the change of command of the national team.

Development: the phrase of Mbappé, Dembélé's reply and the noise in the press

The impetus came from an interview by Mbappé with France Football. Speaking about Dembélé and winning the Ballon d'Or, the Real Madrid number 10 said that his teammate had always been seen as a very talented player, while he himself was labeled "the chosen one" early on.

Days later, after a match of Paris Saint-Germain , Dembélé replied using exactly the same expression. "I was never chosen I worked and got rewarded", stated PSG's forward . The choice of words caught attention in France because the message sounded deliberate.

Tom Williams, a journalist for The Athletic and an expert on French football, told GÉ that the reaction was surprising in the country. For him, the repetition of the expression used by Mbappé gave more dimension to the episode. According to Williams, the impression was that Dembélé did not want to be in the shadow of his teammate and remembered being the current winner of the Ballon d'Or, with a different but legitimate trajectory.

Stéphane Darmani, a correspondent for French channel Canal+ in Brazil, said that part of the French press interpreted Mbappe's interview sequence as an ethical campaign to win his first Ballon d'Or.

After the statements, Seleção Francesa adopted a communication strategy to reduce new noise. Mbappé, who will be captain of France against Turkey, was not included in yesterday's press conference.

Dembélé is the current Ballon d'Or winner and one of the big names in double-Champions League champion PSG. Mbappé, despite being for years among the top players in the world, still seeks the individual award. For Williams, people would watch the reunion between Mbappe and Dembelé, looking for signs of tension or references to speeches from recent days, but the episode did not seem like a major crisis unless it made things worse.

Talks about the Ballon d'Or also bounced off Bayern de Munique 's Olise, and fueled criticism of Mbappé in France.[citation needed] Part of the debate questioned the legitimacy of Real Madrid's forward , citing that Dembélé has won two Champions while Mbappe is yet to win a Champions.

In the parallel news, there were guidelines on Zidane's salary in France, his first challenge and Caio Henrique's account of what it was like to face Neymar , Messi and Mbappé at PSG.

Previously on Neymar , Tuchel and Giroud .

The need to manage relationships between Mbappé and other protagonists is not new.

A high-profile episode occurred in August of that year, during PSG's 5-2 victory over Montpellier for the French championship.

At PSG itself, Mbappé also had public clashes with coach Thomas Tuchel.2020 In 2008, forward became angry at being substituted during a 5-0 thrashing of Montpellier and argued with the manager still on the edge of the pitch.

In Seleção Francesa , there was noise with Olivier Giroud prior to the 2006 UEFA European Football Championship.2021 striker complained that he did not receive passes even when making good moves.

The difference in relation to the current episode is that Mbappé and Dembélé have a long-standing relationship, are publicly close and friends since they were 15 years old. But the hierarchy between French stars has gained a new component: Mbappe starts the Zidane era as captain of France and reference for the team, while Dembelé arrives backed by the Ballon d'Or and the place he occupies at double Champions League champion PSG .

Outcome: Fifa, Barthez and France against Turkey as a test

He denied any problem with Dembélé, claiming to have spoken to his teammate about recent statements and said there was no tension because Dembelé is a friend and the matter was quiet.

The initial environment of the Zidane era, however, was described as lively. Tom Williams and Stéphane Darmani had already pointed to Zidani as the ideal character for trimming the edges, and the presence of Fabien Barthez brought more optimism. World champion from 1998, Barthez was chosen to be goalkeeper trainer for Seleção Francesa .

Darmani reported that Zidane distributed passes and crosses for the attackers, did finishing exercises and maintained good physical shape, which delighted the players. According to him, Barthez, described as a half-crazy ex goalkeeper , arrived in the group with playful manner, pouring out good humor and laughter, although he had no diplomas to be goalkeeper preparer of Seleção Francesa ; the federation would have made an exception because of the duo Zidene and Barthez.

Williams pointed out that Mbappé and Dembélé have enormous respect for the former number 10 of Seleção Francesa and when Zidane speaks, they both tend to listen.

The first chance to show if the relationship between Mbappe and Dembélé is aligned will come on the pitch as France begin their Nations League campaign against Turkey away from home this Fifa Day, with Mbappé serving as captain and fans watching for any gesture, pass or celebration between him and the current Ballon d'Or winner.

For the reader, the news leaves a practical question: will Zidane's new cycle start with Mbappé's natural hierarchy as captain or with Dembélé showing that individual prize changes the weight of each star in the dressing room?

Gallery 1 to 9 images

The visual coverage of the novella between Mbappé and Dembélé featured 1 of 9: Dembelé celebrates goal with Mbappe in France x Norway, pictured by Dylan Martinez/Reuters. On 2 of 9, repeated on 4 of 9, Mbappe and Démbele celebrate at Real Sociedad x PSG, with image from Juan Medina/Reuter. On 3 of 9, Zinedine Zidane appears in press conference before game against Turkey, by FRANCK FIFE/AFP.