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France forward Ousmane Dembele has come in defence of national side captain and striker Kylian Mbappe, saying that the criticism around him is "very unfair and a bit too far".
Ahead of France's campaign opener against Senegal on June 17, last year's Ballon d'Or winner spoke to Spanish publication Marca, saying that some critics have gone too far in their criticism of Mbappe, who concluded a trophyless season with Real Madrid this year. Since joining the Spanish giants in 2024 after leaving Paris Saint-Germain, Mbappe has stayed under high scrutiny for not being able to lead Real Madrid to a major title, the La Liga, which is the domestic top-flight league, and the UEFA Champions League, which is the summit of European football. Despite being a prolific goal scorer, the criticism around Mbappe got louder this year as they finished their second successive season without any major honours. Right from his captaincy for the club, to his performances, public appearances and behaviour, Mbappe has faced what has seemed to be endless debate around him, and it is not leaving him behind even in French colours, for whom he has played a massive role in their 2018 FIFA WC title win, and 2022 runners-up finish, scoring four goals across two finals. "The criticism towards him is very, very unfair. Some people go a bit too far with the criticism of Kylian. He is an incredible player and a very good person off the pitch. Some people overdo the criticism because he's Kylian Mbappe. They should not keep going after him. Whether he ties his shoelaces or not, whether he pulls up his socks or not... it is too much. He is still a human being," said Dembele to Marca as quoted by Reuters. "With the France team, he is very good with us; he is a leader," he added. Dembele has developed a close working and personal bonding with Mbappe during their time together for France, and are expected to play a crucial role in France's bid for the third FIFA WC star on their shirt. Dembele also paid tribute to their legendary coach, Didier Deschamps, who is set to step down as France coach after over a decade in charge, which has seen them win a World Cup and a UEFA Nations League title each, besides a runners-up finish in the last FIFA WC at Qatar back in 2022. The footballer hailed Deschamps as an "exceptional manager" who will "forever remain a legend". On whether former France football icon Zinedine Zidane could take over the reins from Deschamps, Dembele was optimistic that he would do a fantastic job for the national side. Zidane, a 1998 WC winner with France who enjoyed a successful run as a manager with Real Madrid, has been linked with a gig for the national side, but he has declined any discussions about it as long as Deschamps is running the team. "We hope to welcome him one day to the France bench," he said. "I am convinced he would do a fantastic job," Dembele signed off. (ANI)
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