Paris Saint-Germain’s coach did not give the French star 90 minutes, even in the match against Olympique de Marseille.
The last months in Paris have proved to be a complex period for Kylian Mbappé, who now lives as an outsider in the club that made him a champion, dropping in hierarchies and no longer being indispensable in the starting eleven.
Even in the French classic against Marseille, Luis Enrique replaced Mbappé in the 63rd minute to bring in Gonçalo Ramos. PSG was leading 1-0 when the Spanish coach substituted his star, who immediately went to the dressing room with Dembélé.
The French forward did not like his coach’s decision at all and showed it with clear gestures, expressing all his anger. It seems that the relationship between the number 7 and the coach is becoming increasingly distant. Although they continue to praise each other off the field, on the pitch, they clearly show that neither is willing to give in to their internal battle.
“It’s the same story every week. It’s tiring. I am a coach and I make decisions every day. That’s what I will do until my last day at PSG. I always try to find the best solutions for the club. I may be wrong, but those are my choices,” said the Spanish coach to Prime Video after the match at the Vélodrome.
The fact is that Luis Enrique’s explanation would be plausible if his behavior did not follow a pattern. Indeed, in PSG’s last seven Ligue 1 games, he allowed Mbappé to play 90 minutes only once: in the 26th round against Montpellier, just before the international break (where the star played 180 minutes with France), and the captain responded with a hat-trick.
During this period, the Parisian number 7 accumulated only a total of 220 minutes – less than half of the total – in six games, even staying on the bench for 90 minutes against Lille at the Parc des Princes. However, Luis Enrique only gave his star more than 45 minutes in three games since then (against Rennes, Montpellier, and Marseille).
On the other hand, there was the episode of Monaco, when the Spaniard substituted the winger at half-time and he, after taking a shower, decided to watch the rest of the game from the stands with his mother.
