‘Doesn’t have to be the best player’ - Is record goalscorer Kylian Mbappe the right captain for France?

Mbappe, who is also the all-time leading marksman for Paris Saint-Germain, is not the kind of captain to scream and shout at those around him. He would rather be given the ball and endeavour to drag team-mates up to his level. Plenty of assistance in the attacking department is being provided by the likes of Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola.

That enviable collection of attacking talent has not been enough to fire France to a third consecutive World Cup final, with last four heartache being endured at the hands of Spain in 2026.

Prior to stepping down as head coach, Didier Deschamps has one more game to take in - a third-place play-off clash with England on Saturday. Mbappe heads into that contest sat level with Argentine GOAT Lionel Messi on eight goals in the Golden Boot race.

The Real Madrid ‘Galactico’ has been showcasing once again why he remains the brightest light in France’s galaxy of stars, with the 27-year-old embracing the responsibility of being an international talisman.

He can look a little sulky at times and is not afraid to speak his mind - with that point being highlighted again when seemingly questioning Deschamps’ tactics and “communication” during a disappointing defeat to Spain.

It could be suggested that a skipper should always do their best to tow the line and avoid sparking any controversy. Quizzed on whether Mbappe is the ideal candidate to carry captaincy duties into a new era under Zinedine Zidane, fellow Frenchman Aliadiere - speaking in association with BetVictor Online Casino - told GOAL: “It doesn't have to be the best player, it doesn't have to be the loudest either, and I think he has to be, in my opinion, somebody that leads by example, show the right way.

“Important as well, the way you speak to the press and the way you portray the image, the way you speak about your manager, about your team-mates, about everything, just try to calm things down.

“Because being a captain when everything goes well, anybody can be, right? It's being a captain when things are a bit tougher, it's how you deal with all that. So, yeah, to answer that, I'm not sure, I don't really know.

“In terms of example, the way he plays, the way he works, everything he does, yeah. A couple of things that happen after the game where obviously emotions are high and he might criticise the manager's tactic and a couple of things like that, even if you think that that is the way, saying it in the press, just after losing the semi-final of the World Cup, I'm not sure that was a great move because he can only feed the fire.

“It's just that everybody's waiting for something to come out, for somebody to complain, to criticise the manager or another team-mate or anything like that. So, I think your role there is to try to calm things down and just be as realistic as possible without losing your head.

“I think there's a lot of things going for him to be the captain and I think he had a great relationship with Didier Deschamps for all them years and he's a great leader on the pitch. Off the pitch, you know, we all deal with disappointment in a different way and that was his way of dealing with it but, yeah, I still think he's the right man to be the captain.”

Mbappe, with many years and more major tournaments ahead of him, has reached 105 caps for France. He has found the target on 64 occasions across those outings - having made his senior debut in 2017.

He is already a World Cup winner, from 2018, and will continue to form part of Ballon d’Or discussions on an annual basis. France are aware that they have a special talent on their hands, and they will continue to look to him for inspiration while resisting any urge to remove added responsibility from what is already a stacked workload.