Dembele is now more important than Mbappe – Rio Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Ousmane Dembele is now more influential than Kylian Mbappe. The former Manchester United defender made the bold statement following PSG’s emphatic 4-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Club World Cup semifinal.

Softfootball understands that The Ballon d’Or frontrunner rested the entire group stage after sustaining a thigh injury while on duty with France and was limited to substitute appearances in earlier knockout rounds, getting his first start of the tournament on Wednesday against the LaLiga giants.

Ousmane Dembele (photo credit: Getty)
Ousmane Dembele (photo credit: Getty)

However, Rio Ferdinand, in a post on X, shared his thoughts on the matter:

While comparisons of Dembele and Mbappe abound in French and European media, often portraying them as rivals, they have remained close friends, their bond cemented during their early days as part of Les Bleus. They were both part of France squads which won the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and reached another final in 2022.

From the moment they joined the French national team, the two players have shared deep mutual respect, often praising each other publicly and playfully teasing one another. PSG manager Luis Enrique will hope to count on striker Ousmane Dembélé for Sunday’s Club World Cup finale against Chelsea.

In an earlier update, Softfootball reported that Mbappé got mocked for editing goal photo as Club World Cup faces attendance crisis. Mbappé recently returned to action in the FIFA Club World Cup, shared a celebratory picture on Instagram after scoring a spectacular bicycle kick against Borussia Dortmund.

However, fans quickly noticed that the image appeared to be poorly photoshopped to include more supporters in the stadium. The now viral post shows Mbappé mid-air, executing his third goal of the match, a stunning strike that helped secure Real Madrid’s qualification to the semi-finals. Captioned:

The post referenced the illness that had kept the French star sidelined during the group stage. But it wasn’t the goal that caught the internet’s attention it was the crowd. Keen eyed fans spotted several irregularities in the background of the photo, taken at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Angela Obi

About the Author: Angela Obi

Versatile journalist with over a decade of experience in the media and digital content landscape, Angela is a seasoned writer and journalist known for crafting compelling, SEO optimized content that informs, engages and converts. Proficient in data analysis, CMS platform and digital production.

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