Tchouaméni and Deschamps address the Dembélé controversy

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·8 septembre 2025

Tchouaméni and Deschamps address the Dembélé controversy

The injuries of Désiré Doué (20-year-old midfielder/forward) and Ousmane Dembélé (28-year-old forward) last Friday during the 0-2 victory against Ukraine have led to criticism. Particularly from Paris Saint-Germain, who regretted the lack of communication and caution. There are also angry fans and somewhat dubious media. In a press conference this Monday on the eve of the match against Iceland, Aurélien Tchouaméni (25-year-old midfielder from Real Madrid) and coach Didier Deschamps responded. Comments reported by RMC Sport.

Tchouaméni "the coach is accommodating, he's not stupid."

"We didn't necessarily talk about it. We were all disappointed that Ousmane and Désiré got injured. If there's a risk of injury, the coach has always been accommodating. In Madrid, there's always good communication between the two parties." "I think everyone defends their interests but in the end, the player gives his feelings. If he feels it's complicated, the coach is accommodating, he's not stupid. There can be health issues during the selection, it's part of the game."

Deschamps "PSG is not our adversary, even if we have diverging interests."

"What happened, happened. I'm mostly disappointed for Ousmane and Désiré because we lose two elements for tomorrow's match. We did things in a very professional, progressive way, as we do for all players, taking into account the players' feelings. To avoid questions about this, PSG is not our adversary, even if we have diverging interests. The protocol: all players are supposed to report their injury at Clairefontaine. From the moment it's not possible, it's not possible."

It makes sense that Tchouaméni defends his coach. It would have been terrible for the image and atmosphere if he publicly criticized him. And there is probably some truth, the Bleus staff may have communicated well with Real Madrid. The idea here is clearly to rely on the "feelings of the players". Which makes sense, but also has its limits. Because they are often driven by the desire to play and you don't always feel an injury coming.

Vidéos OneFootball

It's quite clear that playing Dembélé at the break of the match against Ukraine was not prudent. This does not mean that an injury was certain. But it was possible to wait in order to limit the risks. The best choices were probably not made. Not to mention the message sent to the other available offensive players left on the bench while there was a risk for the Parisian forward, uncertain all week. It seems at least possible to envisage progression.

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