Tensions are said to have been running high between Kylian Mbappe and Neymar
Peace prevails? PSG will be desperate to settle tensions between Mbappe and Neymar. © David Ramos / Getty Images
Veteran defender Sergio Ramos reportedly turned peacemaker on Saturday night at Paris Saint-Germain amid claims that warring pair Neymar and Kylian Mbappe almost came to blows with “objects thrown” backstage at the Parc des Princes.
Tensions between the players were evident as the Ligue 1 champions beat Montpellier at home at the weekend.
At one point during the 5-1 win, Mbappe missed a penalty and then barged past Lionel Messi and demanded that Neymar let him take a second.
The Brazilian refused the Frenchman’s request, and went on to convert his spot kick and then bag a brace.
In another incident for which he was widely criticized, Mbappe was also seen sulking and giving up during a counter attack when Vitinha passed the ball to Messi and not him, though this was later put down to “personal issues” that the 23-year-old is allegedly going through by RMC Sport.
As Neymar ‘liked’ a couple of Twitter posts from Portuguese-speaking fan accounts that criticized Mbappe, reports then emerged of a breakdown in the pair’s relationship triggered by Mbappe’s alleged support for 2017 world record signing Neymar to be offloaded this summer.
Kylian Mbappe really had the audacity to ask Neymar to give him the second penalty after he he missed his first one 😐 pic.twitter.com/DxFML8jxqf
— LSPN FC (@LSPNFC_) August 14, 2022
Wow totally missed this.Look at how Mbappé gives up attacking when he realizes they won’t pass it to him.Not painting good… pic.twitter.com/idBiTjRCXr
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) August 14, 2022
According to Le Parisien, though, former Real Madrid captain Ramos, who joined the Qatari-backed giants last summer along with Messi, acted as a peacemaker between the duo after the Montpellier win.
On Twitter, a French journalist claimed that a confrontation in the aftermath of the Montpellier thrashing saw the pair almost come to blows, butt heads and have to be separated by their teammates as objects were also thrown.
L’Equipe said on Monday that PSG had ordered crisis talks between the pair. Yet it has elsewhere been reported by Le Parisien that a sit-down with new sporting director Luis Campos already occurred on Sunday.
Campos, who knows Mbappe from their days at Monaco together and is even said to have been recommended by the youngster to replace Leonardo due to the power he has since signing his contract extension, explained to the players that their problems need to be discussed in private and not with the whole world watching them.
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Mbappe and Neymar have reportedly put their conflict to one side, but a source told Get French Football News at the turn of the week that Mbappe thinks there is only room for two superstars in the French capital and not three.
Learning from Neymar over the past half-decade since they both joined the club in the same summer five years ago, Mbappe now believes the time has come to learn from Messi instead which therefore makes Neymar a disposable item.
With Neymar in blistering form in 2022/2023 and already providing five goals and three assists, this along with his high wages and a contract that runs until 2027 means that selling him will be no easy task.
More likely than the Santos academy product leaving is Cristophe Galtier having to heal Neymar’s relationship with Mbappe, as their internal battle becoming the catalyst for another implosion in the Champions League could cost the new manager his job.
In a clash of the champions from the last two seasons, PSG take on Lille away in their next Ligue 1 outing on Sunday night.
