Zidane speaks of admiration for Mbappé as revelations about his frosty relationship with Bale emerges

Football legend and European Association (ELA) Ambassador Zinedine Zidane has spoken of his administration for unsettled French star Kylian Mbappe.

 Zidane will be the guest on the Sunday morning show on French channel Telefoot TF1 this weekend. The French coach, who turns 51 Friday speak on the programme to review all the latest football news.

The former Real Madrid boss discussed the 1998 Ballon d’Or, Champions League, Kylian Mbappé, PSG and future projects.

In the preview now published by the French television channel, Zidane is full of praise for Mbappé. “What he does is incredible... I hope he wins a lot of Ballon d’Or. What he’s doing is fantastic for his club and for the French national team,” said Zidane about arguably the biggest name of the summer transfer window.

Zidane went on to give further praise to Mbappé on the French channel. “I admire Mbappé a lot,” he said in a short 25-second clip posted by Telefoot TF1 on their social media channels.

These words are nothing new for Zidane, who has always spoken very fondly of the PSG star whenever he has had the chance. It is respect that is mutual on Mbappé's part.

The France captain has always seen Zidane as an idol. He came to the defence of the coach when he was unfairly attacked by the then president of the French federation, Noël Le Graët: “Zidane is France, you can’t disrespect a legend like that,” he said in response.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that Zidane “never trusted” Gareth Bale as their relationship descended to “extraordinary” insults.

Bale’s achievements with Los Blancos exceeded any expectations anyone in football would have had before he signed from Tottenham for a then-world record £85million in 2013.

The Welshman has gone down as the finest British export in the modern game, winning an astonishing five Champions League titles among a host of other trophies. That includes three successive European cups under Zidane between 2016 and 2018.

Yet his heroics, including a jaw-dropping overhead kick against Liverpool in 2018’s final, weren’t enough to endear him to Zidane.

Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has now revealed the Frenchman simply didn’t trust Bale nor fully appreciate him, benching the forward for the latter two Champions League finals as they clashed beyond repair.

Speaking on a Bale tribute show for Welsh TV station S4C, Balague said: “He’s the best player to leave Britain ever. That’s a fact.

“He’s one of the big players in Madrid’s history. He scored more [Madrid] goals than [Brazilian] Ronaldo. He has almost double Zidane’s titles.”