Monday evening, in the auditorium of the Parc des Princes, there is a small tradition, of those to which we attach the air of nothing, which shattered. Accustomed to seeing the captain of the team at a press conference on the eve of a Champions League match, we saw Kylian Mbappé disembark in place of Marquinhos.
It didn’t take much more for a colleague to ask the French striker if he was going to wear the armband this Tuesday against Juventus. Burst of laughter from Kyky, who wanted to reassure everyone (or not): Marquinhos will always be the captain of PSG. Officially anyway. Unofficially, the impression is that Kylian Mbappé has taken his little stripes of boss, even if he defended himself: “My role has not changed. My job is the same, that is to say, to perform well on the pitch, to be as decisive as possible. »
“Life is not linear”
With seven goals in five games this season, it could hardly be more decisive. And yet … He believes that it could “be even better”, because of his preparation thwarted by an injury. But, since the start of the season, with the new system put in place by Christophe Galtier, we feel the attacker gaining momentum, and his agreement with Messi and Neymar, in this new isosceles triangle at the forefront, is already wreaking havoc.
The kid from Bondy also returned to his relationship with the Brazilian, which had been called into question following the “penalty gate” against Montpellier, during the second day of L1. He didn’t try to take us for August partridges: “We’ve always had a relationship based on respect, but there have always been times like that when it was colder, other hotter. There are times, you’ll see, when we’re best friends, and times when we talk less. This is the nature of our relationship. When you have two strong character players like that, life isn’t linear. But it always remains in the respect and interest of PSG. »
The “beautiful message” sent by Mbappé
PSG above everything, even when it comes to shooting a penalty again. Designated No. 1 by Christophe Galtier, Mbappé has nevertheless indicated that he would let Neymar fire if the situation in the match meant that the Brazilian was the best able to execute the sentence, like the meeting against Monaco (1-1 ). Words full of common sense, like when he recalled that you had to agree to be replaced during the match to breathe.
It is true that it is easier said than done. We talked about it with the coach, he knows that as a striker, we always have this ambition to score, to leave our mark. He has a more global eye. If he thinks the best solution is to take us out, well, we’ll accept and we’ll line up behind him, because he’s the captain of our ship. »
Christophe Galtier also welcomed the words of his player (“you sent a nice message”), even if the latter made a point of specifying that he would not go out with “the banana”, but that he would accept. Placed on the bench against Nantes, Neymar was the first to “test” the management made in Galtier. This did not prevent the former Barça player from still delivering a classy performance against the Canaries.
Mbappé trusts Pogba
Finally Kylian Mbappé returned to an off-field affair which affects him indirectly. Kyky’s name came up insistently in the Pogba affair. According to Mathias Pogba, his brother, Paul, would have asked a marabout to cast a spell on his teammate in the France team. “I trust the word of a teammate, he called me and gave me his version of the facts, explained KM. Today it’s his word against his brother’s word. So I trust my teammate in the interest of the selection too. »
According to France Info, which had access to Paul Pogba’s hearings before two investigating judges in August, the midfielder admitted having paid money to a marabout, but in favor of a humanitarian association in Africa, not in order to cast a spell on Mbappé. ” He [Paul Pogba] is in some problems, now is not the time to add to it, ”said the PSG striker soberly, determined not to confuse his mind with off-field matters. Especially since the latest news, Paul Pogba is not ready to compete in the World Cup.