‘Everything is good’ – French-Congolese striker Jean-Philippe Mateta shuts down Wilfried Zaha feud

French-Congolese striker Jean-Philippe Mateta has dismissed talk of a fallout with his former Crystal Palace teammate Wilfried Zaha, insisting “everything is good” between them.

The 28-year-old, who now represents France at international level, found himself at the centre of headlines last week after comments he made about his time at Crystal Palace were perceived as a dig at Zaha.

Following his first goal for France, Mateta told L’Équipe that some of his former teammates laughed when he expressed his dream of playing for the national team.

“At Crystal Palace, right at the start, when I wasn’t even playing, I spoke about the France team in the dressing room and I had team-mates like Wilfried Zaha who were laughing,” he said.

“They said that I was mad to think about the France team when I wasn’t even playing at Palace, but I responded saying it was my objective and that I simply had to play to show what I could do.”

Zaha swiftly responded on social media, saying his “head’s on fire” over claims he found false and unfair. “It’s disgusting because I’ve never mentioned him,” he wrote, questioning why Mateta singled him out.

The brief exchange ignited a social media storm, with fans debating whether Mateta’s comments were light-hearted or meant as criticism.

However, Mateta has since played down the incident, telling reporters that there is no bad blood between them and that his words were taken out of context.

“Everything is good,” he said when asked directly about Zaha.

Football analyst Rafael Honigstein told BBC Radio 5 Live that the controversy appeared overblown.

“It didn’t seem that bad a comment,” he said. “I think Mateta was just making a point that people didn’t believe in him.”