Neymar Jnr and Kylian Mbappe are not on the best of terms in Parc des Princes following a recent development which reveals the latter conceded to a move that would have forced the Brazilian away from the club.
At the close of last season, Spanish giants Real Madrid developed a strong interest in Mbappe, dignifying the player as its prime target in the summer transfer window.
This raised some dust, knowing fully well the player is very instrumental to the sharp-cutting attack of the Parisians. Aside from that, French Football Federation (FFF) President Noel Le Graet last year, advised that if the prolific attacker leaves Ligue 1 for La Liga, his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or would become slim.
Following the signals from France which were all in support of the 23-year-old remaining in Paris Saint-Germain, including conversing with French President Emmanuel Macron on the subject, Mbappe decided to snub Los Blancos to sign a new contract that will keep him in Parc des Princes until 2025.
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Consequent to signing the new contract, Mbappe opened an avenue for PSG to part ways with Neymar, with the Brazilian heavily linked with a move away from Paris.
Neymar was not aware of the undertone that fuelled the Ligue 1 champions’ decision to upload him until recently.
According to reports by top European media, Neymar got pissed off after getting wind of Mbappe’s intentions to force him out of the club when he signed his new contract. To the Brazilian, it was a stab in the back for Mbappe to have ever intended to do so.
Although the game of football has a way of mending fences and healing wounds, the relationship between the duo is yet to blossom again even as they play together on the pitch. Worse of it all is that both forwards are at loggerheads on who leads the attack of PSG every week, which the PSG manager knows that beyond his strategy for every game, he has to fashion out a way to manage the ego of both players.
Aside from the hanky-panky game between the duo, it is a well-known fact that Mbappe is the bride of the club, a spectacle that glowed its intensity the moment he snubbed a move to the Santiago Bernabeu to commit his future in Par des Princes. This alone coupled with the press conference where Galtier announced the 23-year-old as the penalty taker of the club confirms the position above.
Accordingly, in the match against Montpellier, Mbappe as the number one penalty taker for PSG blew away the first opportunity to hand the Parisians the lead in 23 minutes. However, failure to convert the first spot kick saw Neymar handed the opportunity to take the second which generated controversies on Twitter.
In the post on Twitter which criticised Mbappe’s position as the number penalty taker, it noted that there is no way that Neymar will be second fiddle to Frenchman.
“Now it’s official, Mbappé throws the maximum penalties at PSG. It’s clearly part of his contract, because in no club would Neymar be the second pitcher,” the profile tweeted.
Following the tweets criticising Mbappe, Neymar was spotted to have liked two of such tweets.
It was not the best weekend for Mbappe, who got angry with Vitinha for not passing the ball to him in the first half.
Galtier in his explanation of Mbappe’s behaviour, added that “He is a competitive player, he has a lot of personality and he would have likedto continue that action. These are things that happen but it is of no significance. Kylian needs a little more preparation.”