Kylian Mbappe says playing under new France head coach Zinedine Zidane feels like "something from a film", 15 years after the French football icons first met.
Zidane will take charge of Les Bleus for the first time when France face Turkey in Izmit in the Nations League on Friday, having replaced long-serving coach Didier Deschamps.
For Mbappe, the appointment carries special significance. The Real Madrid forward first met Zidane as a teenager when he travelled to the Spanish club for a youth trial.
"He was the first person who picked me up to take me to Real Madrid, to the training complex. I was 13 or 14, so it was a long time ago," Mbappe told Spanish newspaper AS.
"Now he's my national team coach. It's like a film, but it's amazing. It's real."
Zidane succeeds Deschamps following the end of his 14-year spell in charge of France.
Deschamps' final tournament ended in disappointment in July, with France suffering a heavy defeat by Spain in the World Cup semi-finals.
The two-time world champions will now begin building towards Euro 2028, starting with four Nations League fixtures during the expanded international break. France will face Turkey before playing Belgium twice and hosting Italy at the Stade de France.
"We're starting a new process with France," Mbappe said. "We have two years to prepare for the European Championship and that's what we're focused on now.
"It's a new era with a new coach. We have the Nations League coming up, four games, and we'll see how they go.
"It's going to be new for everyone because all we've known is Deschamps. It's going to be a change for us, but I think everything is going to go very well."
Mbappe heads into the international break after an impressive individual start to the season, scoring eight goals in eight appearances across all competitions for Real Madrid.
However, he was unable to score in Sunday's derby defeat by Atletico Madrid.
Jose Mourinho returned to the Santiago Bernabeu with the task of ending Madrid's two-season wait for a major trophy, but his side already sit six points behind reigning LaLiga champions Barcelona.
Mbappe believes the responsibility is on Madrid's players to turn their fortunes around and restore excitement at the club.
"Other people can talk, but we have to do more and work to bring the excitement back to Real Madrid and bring the trophies back," he said.
Mourinho criticised the refereeing following the 2-1 defeat by Atletico, but Mbappe declined to follow his manager's lead.
"I have my thoughts, but I keep them to myself. I've never been that kind of player and I'm not going to start now," Mbappe said.
"The referee is human and makes mistakes, and there were mistakes, but I don't want to get into that."
