During Rothen ignites on RMC this Friday, Christophe Dugarry and Jérôme Rothen showed their confidence in the relationship between Zinédine Zidane and Kylian Mbappé in the event that “Zizou” would take over from Didier Deschamps at the head of the Blues in 2026.
Christophe Dugarry and Jérôme Rothen are not worried about a possible cohabitation between Kylian Mbappé and Zinédine Zidane. If Didier Deschamps announced on Wednesday that he will leave the France team at the end of the 2026 World Cup, “Zizou” already appears to be the favorite to take over the position of coach.
“What is certain is that there is a lot of respect on the part of Kylian Mbappé towards Zinédine Zidane,” Rothen commented this Friday on RMC. “When you respect the person in front of you, there is a duration but it is not unlimited by seeing each other and being around each other. Respect afterwards, you have to go and find it elsewhere, that is -say in what Zidane will bring to Mbappé.”
For Christophe Dugarry, the two men will be “forced to get along”. “They will have no choice,” said the 1998 world champion during Rothen ignites. “If we want the French team to work, Zizou will need Mbappé and Mbappé and vice versa. There cannot be the shadow of a half-conflict between the two. Otherwise, the Blues would be penalized.”
“Mbappé will not have the same posture” against Zidane according to Rothen
Dugarry took the example of Zinédine Zidane’s time at Real Madrid, where he had “managed to make Cristiano Ronaldo, the absolute star, understand to play less in order to perform better”. For his part, Rothen estimated that “Mbappé will not have the same posture” at the start as that which he has had for several months with Didier Deschamps.
Rothen: “Mbappé and Zidane are the perfect marriage! » – 10/01
Jérôme Rothen also thinks that a very good level from Kylian Mbappé would be “a guarantee” for the two to “excellent in the first months”. “Afterwards, there are so many parameters,” explained the man who wore the Blues jersey 13 times. “When you arrive, the coach initially brings you with his charisma and experience. Very quickly, no matter the coaches, it gets lost. Zizou is totally aware of this. But afterwards, we won’t look at him like the former great player Zidane will inevitably have to bring positive things to all the players. In terms of image, the French team will be able to shine and in terms of play, we cannot do worse than at present.
