Behind the calm statements and the smiles in front of the media, the relationship between Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé still carries plenty of tension. The pair have tried to deny any dispute between them. But "Foot Mercato" have revealed new details suggesting the crisis is far from over, and that the fallout between the two French stars may have cut deeper than it appeared in public.
Mbappé recently confirmed he had spoken with Dembélé, insisting there was no tension between them. "L'Équipe" tell a different story. Inside the French camp, the reality is more complicated, and the captain's comments surprised a number of those close to Dembélé.
No real contact took place between the players before the Clairefontaine camp began, according to those reports, bar a single message from one to the other that went unanswered. Mbappé arrived to a cold reception. Dembélé, it seems, was angry at the way the crisis had been handled.
Dembélé himself had tried to put the controversy to bed at the press conference before the Italy match, calling it nothing more than "small squabbles on social media". He confirmed he pays no attention to such things at this age, and that he sits next to Mbappé at the dining table with no problem between them.
The misunderstanding, the details suggest, was not one-sided. Mbappé did not expect his teammate's anger to drag on this long, especially given earlier verbal spats that never escalated to this level.
"L'Équipe" paint a bleaker picture. The relationship is no longer what it was, and some members of the squad believe what happened could leave a lasting mark.
Mbappé's inner circle has shifted noticeably during the current camp. He has grown closer to Michael Olise, while he and Dembélé no longer show their usual chemistry.
Both stars insist there is no crisis. Yet the atmosphere inside the French camp looks closer to a silent cold war, played out away from the cameras.