Ousmane Dembele told Marca that the scrutiny of Kylian Mbappe has “gone too far,” saying “the criticism towards him is very, very unfair” and that “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.”
Dembele, who helped Paris St-Germain win a second successive Champions League title, did not stop at that image. He called Mbappe “an incredible player and a very good person off the pitch,” and warned that “some people overdo the criticism because he's Kylian Mbappe. They shouldn't keep going after him.” He added that with the France team Mbappe “is very good with us, he's a leader.”
The comments arrive with stakes unusually high and immediate: Mbappe has been France captain since 2023 and left Paris St-Germain for Real Madrid in 2024, and critics in Spain and France have sharpened their focus after Real Madrid failed to win either La Liga or the Champions League across Mbappe's two seasons at the club. Dembele and Mbappe are likely to start together in France's World Cup opener against Senegal on Tuesday, making the remarks as much about squad unity as about headlines.
Dembele's defense carries extra weight because it comes from a teammate who has shared big moments with Mbappe. They started together at the 2022 World Cup final — Mbappe scored a hat-trick in that match and Dembele was in the starting XI — and their shared international history stretches back to 2018, when Dembele scored in France's 4-2 win over Croatia. Those memories frame Dembele's insistence that criticism of the captain has become personal rather than performance-based.
Context matters here. France go into the tournament with Didier Deschamps still in charge but already scheduled to step down after the World Cup, a transition that magnifies every bit of scrutiny on the dressing room and its leaders. Dembele's public backing of Mbappe is therefore both protective and tactical: it signals dressing-room solidarity ahead of group fixtures that include Iraq and Norway, and an audition of sorts for the side to answer domestic and Spanish critics on the pitch.
But the protection stops short of resolving the core question hanging over Mbappe: can he answer with results where critics say they matter most? The friction is plain. Teammate praise confronts real-world measures — trophies at club level and decisive World Cup performances — and those measures are the standard many observers are using to judge the France captain.
Dembele did not limit his interview to Mbappe. He also praised Zinedine Zidane, calling him “simply an exceptional coach” and saying he “will forever remain a legend among French national team coaches,” adding that “we hope to welcome him one day to the France bench. I'm convinced he would do a fantastic job.” That aside, Dembele returned to the main point: Mbappe should be treated first as a person and second as a target for endless scrutiny.
What happens next is concrete and unavoidable. France face Senegal on Tuesday in their World Cup opener, a match that will offer the first live answer to whether public support from team-mates like Dembele can translate into on-field silence for critics. If Mbappe responds with the form that made him captain — and a reminder of the 2022 final — the debate will shift back toward results. If not, Dembele's defense will join a long list of endorsements that failed to change the conversation.
For readers wanting background on how Mbappe became a global figure and why reactions to him are so intense, FilmoGaz has traced his rise in Kylian Mbappé: How a Bondy childhood built a World Cup star. For now, Dembele has put his voice behind the captain; the team leaves it to Mbappe and France to answer on the biggest stage this week.
