Mbappe risks becoming toxic as Real Madrid and Man Utd legends slam PSG attacker
Robin Bairner
- 12 Oct 2022 09:12 BST
- 3 min read
Kylian Mbappe is in danger of losing all the goodwill he built up over the first years of his career in a spectacular six-month period, during which the PSG striker threatens to isolate himself from everyone.
Mbappe surprised the footballing world in May when he elected to sign a new two-year deal with the Parisian side, having spent much of the previous year heavily flirting with Real Madrid.
Following that incident in the summer, his popularity in the Spanish capital plummeted. Fans felt certain he was going to become their player and the reaction to his new deal at PSG was one of fury, with supporters even burning his shirts.
Back in Paris, meanwhile, his new contract was initially greeted with delight. That honeymoon period ended when he and Neymar were involved in an on-field spat in mid-August. Now Mbappe has performed another U-turn and decided to leave PSG.
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Although he wants a January transfer, more realistically it will be next summer before a move is concluded. Just where he might go, though, is unclear, with the Mbappe brand now toxic according to some legends of the game.
“Kylian wakes up and plays with Neymar and Lionel Messi. We’d all love that. It’s hard to believe he’s complaining about it,” Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand told BT Sport.
Has Kylian Mbappe become toxic?
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) October 12, 2022
“I think PSG are disappointed with him. As a team-mate you are because you know the negativity it brings.
“He’s not happy about something. He doesn’t want to play in the position he’s playing. Some games Wayne Rooney hated being asked to play on the left, but you never knew that because he was sacrificing himself for his team-mates.”
PSG come first – Henry
Arsenal great Thierry Henry told CBS Sport: “Nobody likes being exposed to what they’re not good at. He doesn’t like it, that’s all. But there’s something bigger than all the rest: the club.
“When did they make him feel more important than the club? I will talk about my own story. I didn't like playing on the wing at Barcelona. I hated it. But I had to do it for the team.
“In the end, there is only one rule: if the coach asks you to do something, you do it for the good of the team. And PSG are winning! If they were losing, I would have understood the debate.”
Meanwhile, Real Madrid hero Guti told El Chiringuito: “I’d prefer Haaland to come to Real Madrid rather than Mbappe. You have to think about football and forget the rest.”
Mbappe, then, has not won any goodwill with his latest episode.
