Mbappé responds to the Ballon d'Or row with Dembélé | OneFootball

The aftermath of Brest/PSG (1-0, Matchday 4 of Ligue 1 2026-2027) was eventful a little over a week ago. In particular because Ousmane Dembélé, the 29-year-old PSG and France national team forward, responded on Ligue1+ to comments from Kylian Mbappé, his 27-year-old counterpart at Real Madrid and with Les Bleus, about the 2026 Ballon d’Or. A small remark that was followed by debates and controversy. The French captain responded to L’Equipe this Monday.

Mbappé: “there always has to be a debate, and this one was well found.”

For once, it is easy to give Mbappé some credit: the media and some supporters seem to need to find a debate, a controversy, even if it means making a big deal out of almost nothing by stretching the “topic” in every direction. However, the Real Madrid forward knows that well and cannot pretend he does not take at least a small part in that media game. His comments were strong, and he could expect there would be a follow-up.

Dembélé chose to respond, though still with a bit of subtlety. But the bait had already been thrown out there, and it is then hard to complain when people rush at it. We still hope there is, indeed, nothing particular between the two players. It would be a very sad source of tension over a statement about an individual trophy, while they should have major collective goals with the France national team. Any possible tension was probably exaggerated. And nothing says the matter is closed, either.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.