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France forward Ousmane Dembele has defended his national team captain Kylian Mbappe, saying criticism of the Real Madrid striker has gone “too much”.
Mbappe has been the subject of intense scrutiny both in Spain – where Real have failed to win a trophy this season – and from his home country. Taking over the captaincy of France In 2023.
“The criticism against him is very, very unfair. Some people go a bit too far with their criticism of Kylian,” Dembele told Spanish newspaper Marca.
“He’s an incredible player and a very good person off the pitch. Some people are critical because he’s Kylian Mbappe. They shouldn’t follow him.
“Whether he ties his shoelaces or not, whether he pulls up his socks or not… it’s a lot. He’s still a man. With the France team, he’s very good with us, he’s a leader.”
Dembele helped this year’s Ballon d’Or contenders, Paris Saint-Germain – who Mbappe left for Real Madrid in 2024 – to their second consecutive Champions League title.
Both he and Mbappe are likely to start Tuesday’s group fixtures against Iraq and Norway in France’s World Cup opener against Senegal.
Dembele also paid tribute to coach Didier Deschamps He announced last year that he would resign after the World Cup He has been serving the national team for more than a decade.
“He is an exceptional coach,” Dembele said. “He will forever be a legend among French national team coaches.”
Deschamps guided France to the 2018 World Cup title and another final four years later.
Mbappe scored a hat trick 2022 finalsWhich Dembele also started, scored the fourth goal as well 4-2 win over Croatia In 2018.
Asked about the possibility of former France great Zinedine Zidane succeeding Deschamps, Dembele spoke positively of the idea.
“We hope to welcome him to the bench in France one day. I am sure he will do a great job,” he added.
Zidane, who won the World Cup as a player with Deschamps in 1998, later enjoyed major success coaching Real Madrid and has long been linked with the France job.
The 53-year-old has repeatedly refused to discuss the position while Deschamps is in charge.
