Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain was lambasted for his “concerning” performance and “disastrous” response to being substituted against Marseille.
Luis Enrique took the PSG striker off early on Sunday following a poor evening at Stade Velodrome, where the visitors won 2-0 courtesy to goals from Vitinha and Goncalo Ramos. Mbappe failed to make an impression in attack, and Jerome Rothen has questioned his performance, as well as the team’s chances in the Champions League against a resurgent Barcelona.
WHAT ROTHEN SAID
Speaking to RMC Sport, Rothen said: “He (Mbappe) was bad at the Stade Vélodrome on Sunday, he was bad with the French team in both matches… It’s rare that he doesn’t make the score tick. It’s already happened to him not to be good, and I said it in the first part of the season, but to still score goals and make your team win or at least help them not to lose. That hasn’t been the case for three games. This is really the first match with PSG in a long time where he really isn’t good.”
Expressing his concerns about a misfiring Mbappe ahead of PSG’s crucial continental clash against Barcelona, Rothen added: “I hope he will quickly get back on the right path. Starting with Wednesday’s match in the Coupe de France with the semi-final against Rennes but especially the week after. Because if PSG has a Mbappe in this form against Barcelona, there is zero chance, PSG will not pass. That’s clear and clear!”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Despite PSG’s victory in the Cassique, Mbappe shared a downbeat photo of himself on his social media handles, where he was seen clutching the captaincy band with his right hand fingers. What was even more intriguing was the caption that followed, which read: “Are you sad my love? Relax, it’s almost time” – almost hinting at his potential move to Real Madrid in the summer.
Rothen slammed Mbappe for his “disastrous communication” and urged him to improve his attitude. “There is his communication. And for me, it is a big problem anyway, with all the players and with Kylian in particular because he is one of the most followed guys in the world in football,” he said. “His communication is disastrous on Sunday. Just put a photo of him with the armband hanging like ‘I’m sad because I’m going out and then my God, Luis Enrique took me out of a match’. Yes, well now it’s been two months, and you’re used to it. And anyway, he should have been doing that since the beginning of the year.
“He deserves to come out at half-time or the hour mark, there’s no problem, I have nothing against that. But his communication is horrible. It’s a Classic, you know what that represents and even more so you, who is very identified with Paris Saint-Germain, cannot allow yourself to do that. He cannot allow himself to do that! Publicly, knowing that you are at the end of your contract with everything you have given to the club, you cannot have this communication. That’s what’s causing the mess! We no longer talk about the match but about his attitude. He must erase all that! I I say, through him and through others too, for social networks the clubs must be more vigilant, much more vigilant.”
Mbappe will have the opportunity to shut down his critics in the French Cup semi-final against Rennes on Wednesday and a subsequent Ligue 1 game against Clermont Foot on Saturday. The attacker will look to regain his scoring touch in those two matches before PSG face Barcelona next Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
