Mbappe and Zidane at war as ‘arrogant’ Real Madrid star denied exit from ‘very tense’ France camp

Kylian Mbappe and Zinedine Zidane are at loggerheads in a “very tense” France camp as the “arrogant” Real Madrid star has been blocked from leaving by his intolerant manager.

Tension emerged during the last international break, when Zidane fielded Mbappe on the left wing to accommodate Ousmane Dembele in the central attacking role. Many read it as a shift in the power dynamic in the France attack.

Mbappe has met up with the squad for ahead of their Nations League games against Italy and Turkey but has been ruled out of their game against the Azzurri with a hamstring problem.

“Kylian will miss tomorrow’s match,” Zidane revealed on Wednesday. “He felt a slight pain, and as usual we do not want to risk anything. These are unfortunate matters but they are part of football, and I hope he will be with us on Sunday (against Turkey).”

But fresh reports of friction between the pair have now emerged as Zidane refuses to bend to Mbappe’s demands and mollycoddle the Real Madrid superstar like predecessor Didier Deschamps.

Cyril Hanouna, the television presenter on French TV channel, revealed: “It seems that Kylian Mbappé, given the number of injuries, does not want to play. He is not at his best. And he does not care much about the Italy match because it is part of the UEFA Nations League and not an important match.”

He continued: “With all these injuries and his lack of physical readiness, he does not want to play. This is reliable information I have. Zinedine Zidane will not be as nice to him as Didier Deschamps was.

“Kylian Mbappé acted like an arrogant star, saying: ‘yes, there are a lot of injuries, I don’t know if I’ll play’. So Zinedine Zidane replied to him: ‘well, you know, you won’t play, thank you, you’ll stay where you are’.”

Hanouna continued on his programme ‘Tout beau, tout neuf’: “Mbappé will deny these words, as you know, but I have inside information. This is what I am telling you, my dears. There were some squabbles with Didier Deschamps, but he turned a blind eye to them somewhat, and Zidane does not tolerate it. You have to know that things are very tense between Mbappé and the French national team. He does not get along with his teammates or with Zidane.”

Journalist Marcos Benito, speaking to El Chiringuito, revealed that Mbappe “had a private jet waiting to take him back to Madrid.”

“The surprise is that Zidane has said that even if he doesn’t play, he stays to see whether he recovers for Sunday,” Benito added.