Kylian Mbappe’s ego ‘out of control’ claims pundit: ‘It’s not about the football’
Craig Burley says Kylian Mbappe's ego is out of control
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The French star was spotted at the weekend fuming with teammate Neymar, after he was substituted in PSG’s 2-0 win over Montpellier. Mbappe was replaced by Mauro Icardi with two minutes left to play, and seconds after he exited the pitch Neymar fed Julian Draxler, for the German to fire home from just inside the box. Despite his team’s two-goal cushion, Mbappe appeared furious with the Brazilian for choosing to pass to Draxler, when Neymar had, in his view, not passed enough while he was on the pitch.
The Canal+ cameras picked up Mbappe as he turned to fellow substitute Idrissa Gueye, who netted PSG’s opener, and appeared to say: “That tramp doesn’t pass to me.”
PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino however played down any falling-out between Mbappe and Neymar.
Addressing the media before PSG’s Champions League clash with Manchester City, he said: “These are fantastic guys ‒ these things happen.
“There are always things between top players ‒ they are competitors who want to win and help the team achieve good.”
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Yet Mbappe was also caught in a tense situation with international teammate Olivier Giroud before the summer’s European Championships, and ESPN pundit Burley claimed that French football’s poster boy has an ego that is “out of control”.
Burley said: “His ego’s out of control ‒ it’s not about the football.
“Is it not about the football? Is it not about winning the Champions League? Is it not about winning in this potentially great team?
“No ‒ it’s about wanting to be the big cheese that everybody talks about.
“It’s about the ego.”
Burley, who was speaking after Real Madrid’s failed €200 million (£172 million) bid for the Frenchman at the close of the summer transfer window, added: “Lets not fudge around it and say he’ll go to Real Madrid and they’ll rebuild.
“It’s just about being this top guy there that everybody talks about.
“It’s not about the football, it’s not about the money, it’s just about the ego.
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“He’s a young man and when he started off in this game it was not about the ego, it was about the talent, and we sat here eulogising about it.
“What do we talk about now ‒ the off-field stuff, him not getting on with team mates.”
In defence of the 22-year-old footballer, pundit Jan Aage Fjortoft said: “Craig is talking about his ego, but also this is a young man that has achieved at his young age unbelievable [things].
“He is a world champion […] but he’s still a young guy who is developing into this game.
“What kind of team [does he] have around [him] ‒ what kind of agent, what kind of strategist.
“At the Euros we saw family having a fight there and Mbappe was somehow made the victim there but somehow still involved.”
Fjortoft added: “He’s not lost, he’s a young lad, he can come back and he’s still got his talent but it just shows what fame can do to you.”
Mbappe’s PSG team will see the return of Lionel Messi when they take on Manchester City in the Champions League Group Stages tonight at 8pm.
Pep Guardiola’s side will be riding high from the weekend’s 1-0 victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, just months after the Blues beat City in the Champions League final.
Tonight the Citizens face a side in good form, with PSG top of Ligue 1 with eight wins from eight.
However, City beat the Parisians 4-1 on aggregate in last Champions League season’s semi-final, with PSG having not one in four European games after drawing with Club Brugge in their first group game.
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