Neymar vs Mbappe: What the hell is going on at PSG?
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 15 Aug 2022 09:06 BST
- 5 min read
With three wins from three, 13 goals scored and only two conceded, Christophe Galtier has made an apparently perfect start to life at PSG. Yet that was shattered by Kylian Mbappe’s attitude during Saturday’s 5-2 win over Montpellier.
It was a game marked by numerous shows of frustration from the World Cup winner, who was said to have been irritable at training all week. That continued into his first appearance of the season as he saw a penalty well saved by Jonas Omlin before being denied the opportunity to take a second kick by Neymar, who succeeded from 12 yards.
Having been named as the club’s No.1 spot-kick taker by Galtier, Mbappe was not happy about this as Neymar is only designated to take penalties when the No.7 is not on the field or is the player fouled.
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Subsequently, Mbappe’s application was questionable. When, for example, he did not receive a pass on a quick break, he simply stopped running.
Furthermore, the Frenchman twice brutally told his colleague to get up after he had been fouled in the first half.
After the game, PSG indicated that these issues had been caused by personal issues away from the field, yet it was an ugly spectacle from someone who turned down a dream move to Real Madrid in the summer to remain at Parc des Princes.
Worse followed, though, when Neymar liked two tweets relating to what is now being referred to as ‘Penaltygate’.
“In not one club in the world would Neymar by the second taker. None,” said the first tweet.
The second said: “Neymar scored and humiliated the goalkeeper (again) from the penalty spot. Mbappe, on the other hand, hit very badly.”
Mbappé desistindo e virando as costas pro lance depois de não receber o passe que queria (já imagino a choradeira e a encheção de saco se fosse outro jogador aí)pic.twitter.com/QMb3O89wfU
— Renato (@rgomesrodrigues) August 13, 2022
Did Mbappe ask for Neymar to be sold?
The relationship between the pair is thought to be tense, with Mbappe unhappy at what he perceives to be a lack of discipline from Neymar last season.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian is thought to have had his pride wounded by his colleague’s bumper new contract, which clearly installed him as the club’s superstar as they kept him from Real Madrid in the summer. This is considered to be one of the factors that has seen Neymar return to form in the most spectacular fashion early in the season.
It is explicitly reported by L’Equipe, however, that Mbappe did not ask for Neymar to be sold. It is indicated, though, that he “would not have been against the idea of Neymar leaving this season”.
Other sources, though, are not so certain and suggest the Frenchman did make the request.
PSG, meanwhile, are cool over the issue.
“We’re going to speak with the players but for us, it is not a concern. It’s better to see competitors who are hungry like that rather than players who lose matches and don’t care about it,” the club said in a statement published by L’Equipe.
Mbappe, meanwhile, is said to believe that the penalty issue is between Neymar and the club, and that he is separate from it.
Henry defends Mbappe
France’s record goal scorer, Thierry Henry, has backed Mbappe in this battle.
“Does he need to find his place? No. This is his place. He of course has to show it like he’s shown it from the start, but he’s got nothing to prove,” the Arsenal legend told Amazon Prime. “Now he has to play.
“How can the coach put together something so that he can play Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi together and they are always happy? Good luck!
“At PSG, there is always a debate, always a problem. They won 5-2! Now we’re talking about Mbappe. Last year it was Neymar and it will always be like that – it’s PSG.”
It's nice when he's angry because it means that he cares a lot about this team
- Marco VerrattiMidfielder Marco Verratti gave a similar assessment.
“Kylian is a player who always wants to do well. I think that with the missed penalty, he sulked a little, but it's normal, he's a great player. He always wants to make a difference and when he misses something, he's disappointed, it's normal.
“Afterwards he showed it with already the first goal where he was decisive and afterwards with another goal that he scored.
“But it's nice when he's angry because it means that he cares a lot about this team, that he wants to do well, that he wants to make a difference.”
Regardless of who is right and wrong, this skirmish between Mbappe and Neymar represents Galtier’s first major challenge as PSG boss and one that needs emphatically resolved if his spell is to be successful.
