“Too Selfish in His Thinking” — Frank Leboeuf Delivers Blunt Verdict on Kylian Mbappé

Frank Leboeuf is best remembered for his role with the French national soccer team during the late 90s and early 2000s.

The former centre-back was a member of France's first World Cup team in 1998, they were also the host country, teaming up with one of the greatest ever in Zinedine Zidane and captain Didier Deschamps.

Looking ahead to the 2026 World Cup, France is considered one of the favourites to win the World Cup. It would be their third ever cup and their first since 2018.

Leboeuf took the time to sit down one-on-one with SportsBoom, on behalf of Canada Sports Betting, to talk about how this current French team compares to his squad from 1998, his thoughts on French star Kylian Mbappe and how England stacks up to the rest of the field as they look to win their first World Cup since 1966.

Mbappe is not a leader 

A lot of that will hinge on the play and leadership of Mbappe, one of the best players in the world. 

The spotlight will be on the 27-year-old as he looks to solidify his legacy as he looks to win his second World Cup after winning one as a 19-year-old.

However, Leboeuf is blunt in his assessment of Mbappe, saying he doesn't believe that he's a "natural leader."

"No, Kylian Mbappe is not a leader for me because he's too selfish in his thoughts, in the way he thinks," said Leboeuf when asked if he thinks Mbappe is the leader of this team. 

"I don't know him. I met him only once when he was with the national team, and he was playing for Paris Saint-Germain, having just signed for Paris Saint-Germain at the time." 

"Again, he's a great lad, well-educated, but his thinking, his way of thinking about football, doesn't align with my values of the game," Leboeuf continued to say.

Saliba or Kante should be captain 

Instead, the 58-year-old points towards centre-back William Saliba and 35-year-old veteran N'Golo Kante as leaders of the French squad instead of Mbappe.

"That's why I like people like William Saliba and N’Golo Kante, players like that who are ready to sacrifice for the team," said Leboeuf. 

"That's the difference for me, and that's what counts for me the most. Antoine Griezmann as well was a real leader in terms of the way he was playing and the way he was thinking about football. I liked Ousmane Dembélé's comment, saying that if I don't track back, the coach won't put me in, and that's the reality of football."

Leboeuf makes sure to end his thoughts on Mbappe by calling him a "superstar," but he criticises him for not being the best teammate.

"Mbappé is a superstar, but he's not the best teammate in the world; that's my problem," said Leboeuf.

Comparing the 2026 and 1998 World Cup squads

When asked to compare this current French squad to France's first World Cup team of 1998, Leboeuf isn't one of those old timers who holds his former teams on a pedestal; he flat out said that this one is offensively better than his '98 squad.

"It's hard to compare generations. Football is different, refereeing is different," said Leboeuf. 

"Even the ball itself is different, so it's hard. But, it's crazy to say this, but I think offensively they're better than us. I mean, defensively, we were stronger. But it was teamwork, that's the thing. Even in 1998, we finished as the best team, scoring, I think, 15 or 16 goals during the World Cup, and considering only one or two maybe."

Leboeuf said one of the keys for this current team is to play strong defensively. If they can do that, the sky is the limit for France.

"It's the overall aspect of the game that we solved, and that's going to be the main concern," said Leboeuf. "I think offensively, they won't have any problems scoring goals. To keep a clean sheet, that's going to be harder for them."

England Not One Of Frank Leboeuf's Favourites

When the topic of England is brought up, Leboeuf holds them in high regard, but he doesn't consider them to be one of the favourites of the 2026 World Cup.

"England has a chance," said Leboeuf. 

"When asked for my favourites, I don’t include them because they are the dark horse, no doubt. When you look at all the names and individuals, they have the quality to win a World Cup. The only concern I have with England, and it's always been like that, is the chemistry that they couldn't find. In 2006, or maybe 2010, they had the team to win the World Cup with, for example, Terry, Lampard, Gerrard, and so many others. I really thought they could achieve it, and I wish them the best because I like all the individuals."

Leboeuf brings up a key concern regarding the conditioning of England's players and how their stars tend to prioritize their club's success over the country's success on the international stage.

"What kind of player will Bukayo Saka be at the World Cup," asked Leboeuf. 

"I have no doubt that Declan Rice will be at the top; he always has been, especially this season, but there are so many others. I always wonder about their fitness and how ready the players will be to make sure they can maybe reach something. The premise is getting a little bit better, but the premise seems to be that clubs are more important to players than the national team. They defend their club colours before defending their country."

Leboeuf said that in order for England to win their first cup since 1966, they need to change their approach to the World Cup stage.

"That should be the other way around, and that's the problem," said Leboeuf. 

"The pressure is strong from the fans, and you have so many derbies. If you're Manchester United, you're going to hate the Man City players, but also the Liverpool players. And if you're from Chelsea, you're not going to like the Spurs player, or the Arsenal one. That comes from the culture, and it has to change in order for the players to be ready to fight with each other.

"You can see Real Madrid players and Barcelona players, they know how to get along to win something," Leboeuf continued. "Before, it was impossible, it was insane, until 2010, when they managed to do something well and they won something. It has to be like that. Otherwise, England are not going to win anything."

Leboeuf considers Spain to be the favourite entering the World Cup.

"Spain is my favourite, just followed by France," Leboeuf concluded.