Paris (AFP)
The issue of the possibility of the departure of Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe from his team, according to press reports, casts a shadow over the Clasico match between Saint-Germain and his arch-rival Marseille at the Parc des Princes on Sunday in the eleventh stage of the French Football Championship.
The bombshell news came out on Tuesday when the Spanish newspaper “Marca” and several French media indicated that Mbappe wanted to leave Saint-Germain as soon as possible.
Several French reports stated that the 23-year-old feels “betrayed” by his club and disappointed, because the promises made to him when he signed his new contract were not fulfilled last May.
It is true that the Paris club did not make all the signings they wanted during the summer, with particular emphasis on their failure to include a central defender. However, it was clear that Mbappe was expecting a new spearhead to arrive as well.
Polish Robert Lewandowski was one of those linked by reports with a move to Paris, before the former Bayern Munich star chose to go to Barcelona. The French champions also failed to sign Italian striker Gianluca Scamaca from Sassuolo, who moved to England from the West Ham gate.
Mbappe, who scored 39 goals last season, scored his twelfth goal in all competitions at the present time from a penalty kick, during the 1-1 draw with its Portuguese guest, Benfica, on Tuesday, hours after the rumor was published.
Mbappe recently seemed to complain about the role assigned to him by coach Christophe Galtier on the field, the last of which was Saturday in a goalless draw with Rennes in the tenth stage of the French League, when the former Monaco player wrote on Instagram, “Negative match. See you Tuesday” with the hashtag “#Here is Paris” and “#Bifugang”, meaning the spearhead group.
Galtier tried to mitigate this, saying, “I spoke to him for a long time, to discuss and know his expectations…We often have discussions and try to reassure him.”
“It is true that sometimes he finds himself in the axis with the feeling that he is the spearhead, but Mbappe is a very smart player, able to analyze his position and adapt his movements according to the dynamics,” Galtier admitted.
PSG sporting director Luis Campos commented on reports of Mbappe’s desire to leave the team, saying that the latter “never spoke to me about his desire to leave in January.”
He continued: “Having such information before a match like this (against Benfica) is very dangerous, and for this reason I am here to deny and say clearly that Kylian Mbappe never spoke to me or to President Nasser Al-Khelaifi, about leaving Paris Saint-Germain” in early 2023.
For his part, Galtier confirmed that he was not aware of Mbappe’s desire to leave the Parc des Princes, “I cannot comment on it, we turn rumors into information that almost becomes a statement.”
But the rumors, according to several sources, were started by the player’s surroundings in order to put pressure on Paris Saint-Germain due to what the French international is going through.
Returning to the Clasico match, Saint-Germain hopes to get out of the cycle of draws that accompanied it in the last three matches in various competitions, including two in the Champions League.
Veteran Spanish defense magnate Sergio Ramos is absent from the ranks of Saint-Germain, after being suspended for two matches, after he was sent off in the last match against Reims.
The Argentine star Lionel Messi, who was suffering from a slight calf injury, may return to his ranks.
On the other hand, Marseille wants to restore the tone of victories after its sudden loss at home to Ajaccio 0-1 in the last round, which was its first in the league.
Marseille enters the match energized after its victory over Sporting Portugal in the Champions League, and is in a good position to reach the final price round.