Mbappé, Luis Enrique feud shows PSG are moving on without him،
For the first time in his professional career, since joining the Monaco first team in 2017, Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappé is more of a substitute than a starter. As incredible as it may seem, it is the truth.
In his last three matches, Mbappé was on the bench for more than an hour in Nantes two weeks ago (PSG won 2-0), around half an hour against Rennes last week (1-1 draw) and 45 minutes Friday in Monaco (0-0 draw). In total: three matches, a goal scored, a victory and two draws for PSG, and a huge controversy.
PSG manager Luis Enrique has been quite transparent about the notable change since the start of this incredible streak. He keeps repeating his justification like a mantra: “Soon we will play without Kylian, so you have to get used to it. … I am looking for the best options for the team.”
Mbappé, 25, obviously doesn't agree with Luis Enrique's thinking here, and he was clearly unhappy that his playing time had decreased so dramatically. On Saturday morning, the two men met and had a frank discussion about the situation, sources told ESPN. The coach told his first-team vice-captain that it was nothing personal, but that he was no longer essential as he was leaving this summer to finalize his move to Real Madrid.
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Leaving Mbappé on the bench and making him play less in Ligue 1 is surely easier to do at the moment as the Parisians are nine points ahead of Brest at the top of the table, en route to their 10th title in 12 seasons. That probably wouldn't happen if the title race was tight, as Mbappé remains Paris' best player – he's one of the best in the world, finishing third in voting for the 2023 Ballon d'Or. The team has more chances of winning matches with him on the field than without.
However, Luis Enrique is right to get used to playing without the 2018 World Cup winner, even if it still seems a bit disingenuous: preparing for next season now, while the 2023-24 campaign is still underway and with many other team moves. probably in summer it seems strange.
Sources have told ESPN that there is currently a clear power struggle within the club between Mbappé/his camp, Nasser al Khelaifi, the PSG president whose lucrative extension offers were rejected, and Luis Enrique. In short, Al-Khelaïfi doesn't like being told “no”. When midfielder Adrien Rabiot refused to extend his contract a few years ago, he remained essentially on the bench for the second half of the season. Mbappé is no Rabiot, mind you, and PSG can't just toss him aside like they did his French teammate. But they can limit his minutes, as we've seen over the last two weeks.
This is also not the first flashpoint between the player and the club president. Last summer, Mbappé was left out of the first team and did not travel to Asia for the pre-season tour. This was interpreted as punishment for not wanting to extend his contract with PSG. At the time, according to sources at ESPN, club officials were discussing a crazy idea: why not be strict and not play Mbappé the whole season? The idea was quickly abandoned.
At the time, Luis Enrique lobbied for the player to be reinstated while this dispute was ongoing; this time he is the main protagonist of the drama.
Luis Enrique is known for not liking stars. He faced Francesco Totti when he was at Rome, he faced Lionel Messi at Barcelona, and now it's Mbappé's turn.
As a young manager, Luis Enrique didn't think Totti was running or playing with enough intensity at almost 35 years old. He left the Roma star on the bench such that Totti only scored his first goal of the 2011-12 season in January. .
It was a similar story with Messi: although Luis Enrique won everything, including the hat-trick, in the 2014-15 season, he tried to take Messi off the field in the 80th minute of an October match against Eibar, but Messi snubbed him. and remained on the ground. In January, tensions were high enough that the two men clashed in training over an unattributed foul by Luis Enrique on Messi during a small-group scrum. In Barcelona's next match against Real Sociedad, Messi was on the bench for the first (and only) time all season. A few days later, Messi failed to show up for training.
The Spanish coach has a reputation for wanting to be the “star” and to be seen as the boss, but it's harder to maintain that image when you have club icons in your team. In his pre-match press conference on Friday, he told the media that his team would be much better next season – reading between the lines, he meant “when Mbappé is no longer here”. This was seen as a blunt quote by the player and his camp, sources told ESPN.
During this Saturday morning meeting, Luis Enrique told Mbappé that he would always count on him for the big matches, including Tuesday in the Champions League round of 16 second leg against Real Sociedad in San Sebastián, the giants of Ligue 1 holding on. a two-goal advantage from the first leg.
Overall, there's really nothing Mbappé can do to remedy this situation. Sources told ESPN he wouldn't change his mind about his decision to leave; he is preparing his transfer to Real Madrid and he is very excited about it.
Mbappé also knew that such a situation was likely to arise; after seven years, he knows the club and Al Khelaifi too well. But he will do his best when he plays and won't create a scene if he doesn't.
That said, on Friday night in Monaco, Mbappé felt he had to do something to express his mood. So instead of sitting on the bench in the second half, after being replaced at the break, he went to sit next to his mother and his entourage in the stands, three rows above… d 'Al Khelaifi. They didn't talk that night, sources told ESPNFC, but they didn't really need to. The evil is already done.
PSG still needs Kylian Mbappé in top form if they want to finish the season as best as possible, especially in the Champions League. But Mbappé no longer expects anything from them.
