Paris Saint-Germain held to Champions League draw as speculation swirls around Kylian Mbappé’s future
By Ben Church, CNN
It was all looking so promising at Paris Saint-Germain at the start of this season.
Kylian Mbappé decided to stay at the club amid interest from Real Madrid and the French international, Lionel Messi and Neymar had started to click together on the pitch.
Fast forward to autumn, though, and things aren’t looking quite as rosy.
The French giants were held to a 1-1 draw against Benfica in the Champions League group stages on Tuesday amid rumors that Mbappé is looking for a quick exit away from the club.
The speculation didn’t appear to hamper the 22-year-old’s form, though, as he netted a penalty for his side and proved a constant danger from the left.
Despite dominating possession, PSG was pegged back in the second half by another penalty, this time dispatched perfectly by Benfica’s Joao Mario.
PSG pushed for a winner that would have secured a place in the knockout stages of the tournament but couldn’t find the breakthrough — Mbappé thought he had won it late on but his acrobatic volley was clearly offside.
UEFA’s Technical Observer Panel named Mbappé Player of the Match, saying “he was Paris’ only dangerous player thanks to his speed and movement.”
Though the result and performance were far from a disaster, it served as another blip in a difficult week for the club which saw reports from leading journalists suggesting Mbappé was unhappy at PSG.
Some reports said the attacker was eying a transfer in January having only signed his new contract 144 days ago.
“He feels betrayed by the club in the sense that all the things the club promised him when he signed that new deal until 2025 have not happened,” French football expert Julien Laurens told the BBC.
“The promises they would sign a new striker so he could play in his best position off the striker, that Neymar wouldn’t be there and he would be sold, that they would sign a center-back, and he would be at the center of the project. All of these things have not happened.
“We knew there were tensions and now he has made his mind up and he doesn’t want to be there.
“He feels he made a mistake by extending his contract and he should have left in the summer, now he is looking at the January transfer window at where he could go.”
However, the club has denied such speculation and say the World Cup winner is happy where he is.
“I am with Kylian Mbappé every day. He has never talked about leaving in January. He has never talked about it with the president either,” the club’s sporting director Luis Campos said ahead of Tuesday’s game.
“It’s not a statement from the player, it’s a rumor.”
Mbappé’s lawyer didn’t immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
With Messi currently out with injury, the club will need Mbappé’s attacking prowess if it is to continue its unbeaten form in the league.
The Parisian outfit faces a tough match against Marseille on Sunday and the club will be hoping rumors of Mbappé’s departure will have died down.
The-CNN-Wire
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