Brewing feud between France’s Kylian Mbappé and Olivier Giroud goes public

• Giroud comments after friendly deemed a swipe at Mbappé
• Mbappé upset remarks made publicly and not to his face

A brewing feud between the France strikers Kylian Mbappé and Olivier Giroud has gone public, potentially threatening team unity before their opening Euro 2020 match against Germany.

It began on Tuesday after France’s 3-0 victory against Bulgaria in a friendly when Giroud suggested he was not getting the service he deserved – considered by some to be a swipe at Mbappé.

Giroud scored two goals after coming on for Karim Benzema, and several of his teammates ran towards him to celebrate his first one. But not Mbappé, who appeared to walk in the opposite direction.

“I was quiet because sometimes you make a run and the balls just don’t arrive,” Giroud said on L’Équipe TV. “I don’t always pretend to make the right calls, but I have tried hard to give solutions in the area.”

Mbappé said Sunday he had been “a little affected” by the growing unrest caused by Giroud’s comments. “What he said does not bother me more than that,” Mbappé said. “He expresses a feeling when he speaks. I’m a forward and I’ve had that feeling 365 times in a game, when you feel like you’re not being served.

“It’s more about releasing it publicly. I saw him in the dressing room, I congratulated him on his goals, he didn’t say anything to me. I heard about it in the press. That’s more [important] than what he said – he didn’t say anything bad.”

Mbappé said he did not want to make “a big deal about it” and added: “We are here to represent France, that is the most important thing.”

Giroud’s place in France’s attack has been threatened by the recall of Benzema after nearly six years away from the national team. However, Benzema limped off against Bulgaria with a minor knee injury and is a doubt for the game against Germany in Munich on Tuesday, raising the possibility of Giroud coming back into the team.

Giroud and Benzema had a frosty relationship before Benzema’s fallout with the coach, Didier Deschamps. Giroud took Benzema’s place and is now France’s second-highest scorer with 46 goals, five behind Thierry Henry’s national record.

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