Neymar and Mbappe, the once very close pals,
now seem to not be able to even stand the sight of each other again. What really went
wrong there? How did these two fantastic players go from buying each other Christmas
presents, hanging out and celebrating goals together, to having arguments on the pitch?
What is actually going on between Neymar and Mbappe?
The real answer? A lot of things.
All may have looked rosy with PSG scoring 5 again in their second game of the Ligue
1 season against Montpellier. But a lot went on during and after that game that
might be a handful for the new boss as the season develops.
First of all, in the first half, when the scoreline was still nil-nil,
Mbappe took and missed a penalty. Then shortly after, the Frenchman was seen pulling out from
an ongoing counterattack because Vitinha did not pass the ball to him in the midfield.
Things got more heated just before the halftime break when PSG were awarded another
penalty kick. This time, Neymar took the ball, and when he was setting it on the spot, Mbappe stepped
up to him and demanded to take it instead. Neymar told him no and went on to convert the spot kick.
Wait a minute, doesn’t this look like something we have seen before? Yes! Cavani
and Neymar had a similar tussle back when the Brazilian just joined PSG. Anyway, moving on…
We hear that Mbappe’s request being turned down was what led to the bust up between
the two attackers in the dressing room after the game. According to reports,
they locked heads, exchanged heated words, and even threw objects at each other. Apparently,
it was so bad that Sergio Ramos and some other teammates had to intervene and break them up.
But it didn’t all end there. After they had all gone their separate ways,
Neymar was caught liking some controversial tweets linked to the whole situation.
One of the tweets he liked referenced the comments the new coach, Christophe Galtier,
made after the game, saying that Mbappe is indeed the number 1 penalty taker
and the next after the Frenchman is Neymar. Here’s what the tweet said:
“Today, in the PSG game, Neymar scored and HUMILIATED the goalkeeper (once again)
taking a penalty. Mbappe, in contrast, took a really bad penalty and missed. After the game,
the coach said Mbappe will be the main penalty taker this season. It's absurd!”
But the tweets Neymar liked only kept getting more controversial.
Another one he gave the hearts on the social media platform said:
“Now it's official, Mbappe will take PSG's penalties. Clearly, it's a contract issue,
because no club in the world that has Neymar would make him the second taker,
not one! It seems that via his contract, Mbappe owns PSG.”
Those were very strong claims, and it is hard to see Neymar’s liking
of the tweet as anything more than an endorsement.
And this only looks like it could get uglier because many fans and pundits had
their suspicions when Mbappe was offered THAT deal by PSG in the summer. Many said that that
contract gave the World Cup winner insane power and he could tell the club whom to buy and sell.
So, rumors started quickly flying that he provided a list of players that PSG
had to sell this summer and Neymar’s name was on that list. Obviously,
the Brazilian is still at the club with just weeks remaining in the summer transfer window,
but it is looking like the 23-year-old actually does wield a certain amount of power at the club.
sadly, this doesn’t seem to be just a Neymar vs. Mbappe thing.
Messi, who has always tried to stay away from all the drama,
also seems to have been drawn in as Mbappe does not appear to be on great terms with
the Argentina captain either. In that game against Montpellier, Mbappe was seen bumping into Messi,
and from the look on the Argentine’s face, that was neither a joke nor something he was expecting.
We don’t know how much worse this could get, but what we know is that things are not looking pretty
right now. That was Mbappe’s first game back in the PSG squad and it has already brought a lot
of drama. There are still many more games to go this season. Who knows what could happen?
Could it be that PSG have brought their own doom upon themselves by giving the
youthful attacker so much power? Or is this just a minor disagreement between
players that will blow over in a matter of days?
Let us know what you think in the comments.
And let’s not forget that the transfer window is still open,
so we cannot totally rule out Neymar or even Messi leaving in the next couple of
weeks. Do you think that will happen, though? Let us know in the comments.
If you enjoyed this video, give it a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel. Also, turn
on the bell notification so you never miss out on new content. Catch you in the next one. Bye!