Kylian Mbappé admitted to calling Neymar "a bum" vs. Montpellier on Sept. 25, and that not even the arrival of Lionel Messi was enough to change his mind about leaving PSG
Kylian Mbappé has confirmed the gossip that he called PSG teammate Neymar "a bum" during a 2-0 win over Montpellier on Sept. 25; but no, there's no rift, he insisted.
After being subbed off in the 88th minute with PSG leading 1-0, Mbappé fumed on the bench where he called Neymar a "clochard," which means bum or vagrant in French. In full, the PSG star was caught on camera saying, "This bum, he never passes to me."
In an interview with L'Equipe as he prepares for World Cup qualifiers with France, Mbappé confirmed the account, but said that it has since become water under the bridge.
"Yes, yes, I said it," Mbappé said. "Now these are things which happen all the time in football. It just needs to be something that doesn't linger. That's why, right after, given how it blew up, I spoke to him about it.
"We already had a few exchanges like that in the past and it will continue, because we want to win, but there shouldn't be a certain resentment."
The 22-year-old star also opened up on his summer transfer drama, saying that he made the official request to leave the club after the Euros in July, as opposed to a last-minute demand at the end of the deadline that was reported by some European outlets.
"Before the Euros, I told the club that I didn’t want to renew, and after the Euros I said I wanted to leave," Mbappé said. "My ambition was really for everyone to move forward hand in hand, the selling club, the buying club and me.
"That we work out the best deal possible and go out through the front door. I also wanted to leave my club the time to find a replacement. That everyone would be happy and that I could go on my merry way."
Instead, PSG decided to rebuff interest from Real Madrid to keep the forward, who said he would have only left for Real. Mbappé, who is out of contract next summer and can leave on a free transfer, said he is "doesn't have an issue" with the club although not even the arrival of Messi has changed his mind.
"No, because I don’t make decisions on sudden impulses," Mbappé said. "I had made my decisions and I had thought long and hard about it.
"... I thought that my adventure [with PSG] was over. I wanted to discover something else. I’d been in the French league six or seven years. I’ve given what I tried to at Paris and I think I’ve done it well. To arrive at 18 post-youth development and do everything I have, I think that’s something remarkable. But everyone is free to draw the conclusions they want but that’s my assessment. Leaving was the logical next step."
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