Mueez Ajao
– Kylian Mbappe has been criticised by Thierry Henry amid growing rumours that the France forward wants to leave Paris Saint-Germain over his positioning as a lone forward and failed promises by the board.
– Sources reported on Tuesday that the 23-year-old Mbappe, who extended his contract with PSG until 2025 after looking close to joining Real Madrid during the close season, wants to leave the French champions in January.
– PSG have denied Mbappe asked to leave.
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– “Nobody likes to be exposed to what you’re not good at, you just don’t like it,” Henry said on CBS Sports on Tuesday.
– Mbappe is being used a lone forward with Lionel Messi and Neymar on either side, while he has more freedom with France, where he lately played around Olivier Giroud.
– “But there is something that is bigger than anything else and that is the club,” former Arsenal forward Henry said.
– “But did they make him feel like the club was the most important thing or did they make him feel like he was more important than the club?”
– Henry, France’s all-time top scorer, said he had a similar experience at Barcelona.
– “I will use my own stories. I didn’t like to play out high and wide for Barcelona. I hated it. But I did it for the team,” he said.
– “I didn’t like it after a hundred caps and I don’t know how many goals I scored for France, I had to play on the left. I didn’t hear anyone say, ‘Oh, what a nice gesture!’ to go on the left instead of players who had less goals and less caps.
– “There is only one rule: if the boss asks you to do something, you do it, if it’s good for the team. If it’s bad for the team, I would get the argument.”
– Mbappe, however, seemed unperturbed as he scored PSG’s goal in their 1-1 draw at home against Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday.
