Paris Saint-Germain’s boss Christophe Galtier has denied reports of a rift between superstar teammates Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi following the World Cup.
Messi’s Argentina defeated Mbappe’s France in the Final of the Qatar World Cup with the following celebrations irking many French people as they were aimed at Mbappe’s failure.
This led to speculation that the dressing room will be a frosty atmosphere when the teammates get together as Ligue 1 resumes following the break.
Galtier dismissed the reports during a press conference.
“There is no reason to mix everything up in the relationship between Kylian and Leo [Messi],” Galtier said. “Kylian has a very good attitude having lost the World Cup.
With Mbappe and Neymar already back in training, the manager also announced Messi’s return date to the team.
“He [Messi] had to return to Argentina for the celebrations, the receptions and we decided that he was going to be off until Jan. 1,”.
“And so he will come and join us, either on the 2nd or the 3rd, to be able to resume competition with us, when he will have had between 13 and 14 days of recovery.”
This means that the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, who has reportedly signed a new extension, will miss PSG’s home league game against Strasbourg and the trip to Lens.
Galtier, Messi and Mbappe need to be on the same page if the club is to win the elusive Champions League with the business end of the season coming up.
PSG sit first in the league table with 41 points.
