Ousmane Dembele says 'unfair' criticism of France team-mate Kylian Mbappe has gone 'too far' before World Cup
Updated 12/06/2026 at 22:21 GMT+1
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Ousmane Dembele has defended France captain Kylian Mbappe before their World Cup campaign, saying that criticism of the Real Madrid forward has gone "too far."
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Mbappe was criticised after Madrid failed to win a trophy last season, with millions of fans expressing their displeasure in an online petition.
The forward is in the spotlight this summer as France aim to win back the World Cup in North America, having lifted the trophy in Russia eight years ago.
"The criticism towards him is very, very unfair," Dembele told Spanish newspaper Marca.
"Some people go a bit too far with the criticism of Kylian. He's an incredible player and a very good person off the pitch. Some people overdo the criticism because he's Kylian Mbappe. They shouldn't keep going after him.
"Whether he ties his shoelaces or not, whether he pulls up his socks or not... it's too much. He's still a human being. With the France team, he's very good with us, he's a leader."
Dembele is a leading contender to win the Ballon d'Or for a second year in a row, having helped Paris Saint-Germain to their second successive UEFA Champions League triumph, with their victory over Arsenal on penalties in last month's final.
He says winning the World Cup will be "important" in deciding who claims the Ballon d'Or, but is only focused on team success.
"As I have repeated many times, it is an exceptional individual trophy, but that comes afterward. The No. 1 objective, of course, was to win the Champions League with PSG and, with the French national team, to win another World Cup. It is something exceptional.
"So before thinking about all those things, you have to stay very focused."
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Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele during a France training session ahead of the World Cup
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And with superstars like Dembele and Mbappe to call on, France are one of the favourites for World Cup glory. They won the tournament in Russia and lost the 2022 final to Argentina on penalties.
Didier Deschamps will step down as head coach of France following the tournament.
Dembele has paid tribute to Deschamps, saying: "He's simply an exceptional coach. He will forever remain a legend among French national team coaches."
France begin their World Cup campaign against Senegal on Tuesday, followed by a meeting with Iraq on June 22 and Norway on June 26.
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Dembele was also asked about the prospect of France great Zinedine Zidane succeeding Deschamps as head coach.
"We hope to welcome him one day to the France bench," Dembele said. "I'm convinced he would do a fantastic job."
Talking about the imminent departure of Deschamps recently, Mbappe said: ”The best way to honour him is to win the World Cup.
”Because he loves to win. So we're going to make sure he has the best World Cup ever, and hope it's his last.
"Because I hope he doesn't take charge of a World Cup again with another team. I'm putting pressure on him. I saw they were talking about Italy. That would be awful."
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