Kylian Mbappe denies criticising Paris Saint-Germain teammate Neymar after Brazilian stretchered off against Lille
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Published 19/02/2023 at 16:22 GMT
Kylian Mbappe says the last thing Paris Saint-Germain need right now is internal divisions, and cannot understand why his quotes calling for his teammates to eat and sleep well has been interpreted as a criticism of Neymar. Speaking after Lionel Messi's magical match-winning free kick against Lille - a game in which Neymar was stretchered off - Mbappe said his words were to all his teammates.
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With Paris Saint-Germain enduring a tricky run of form and fixtures, star forward Kylian Mbappe says that the last thing he and his teammates need is his internal divisions.
Unfortunately for him, the France striker's words following PSG's 1-0 first-leg Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich - telling his teammates to eat and sleep well - were interpreted as a dig at teammate and Brazilian star Neymar.
Mbappe spoke to Canal+ after Tuesday's match, saying: "Everyone needs to be healthy, sleep well, eat well. We can do something there. If we are more offensive, they are uncomfortable. Let's quickly move on and go again."
This was widely seen to be an indirect allusion to Neymar's off-field behaviour.
The following evening, Neymar competed in a poker tournament before finishing his evening with a celebratory social media post at a McDonald's restaurant.
On Sunday though, the Brazilian scored one of PSG's four goals in their 4-3 win against Lille and assisted another before suffering an apparently severe ankle injury and being stretchered from the field.
After the match, alongside Prime Video Sport France pundit Thierry Henry, Mbappe was asked about his previous quotes.
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PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 19: Neymar Jr #10 of Paris Saint-Germain celebrate his first goal with Kylian Mbappe #7 and Lionel Messi #30 during the Ligue 1 match between Paris Saint-Germain and Lille OSC at Parc des Princes on February 19, 2023 in Paris, Fra
Image credit: Getty Images
Mbappe clarified enthusiastically, saying: "[They were] for everyone. For everyone! I've seen people talking about Ney and what happened afterwards...it was not a dig or anything. I think in the context we are in now, we need anything but digs. It's really advice for everyone because, as I said, when we have everyone, other teams have problems. So I hope Ney will come back soon because he's a fundamental player for us."
Neymar has scored 17 goals and assisted 13 more this season but he has blown rather hot and cold; he had scored just once since the World Cup before his contributions against Lille.
PSG travel to Munich for the second leg of their tie against the German champions on March 8, and they will be desperately hoping that Neymar will recover in time to take part.
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