In the world of modern football, we are accustomed to hearing high flying names of teenagers get thrown around for astronomical prices but £263.4m (€300m) for a 19-year-old is just obnoxious. Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe is reported to be in Manchester City’s books over a probable falling out with his current teammate and attacking partner, Neymar.
The Brazilian superstar is the face of the Ligue 1 outfit who’s on-pitch antics seem to spark a conversation after almost every single match. Be it about his obsession to showboat in front of defenders or his complete disregard for sportsmanship by allegedly diving to earn his team a free kick or a penalty, the 25-year-old is never short of controversy and this one is the spiciest of them all.
Everybody who has seen the last few games of PSG will have noticed Neymar’s reluctance to link up with Mbappe in the final third. While the 19-year-old often finds himself in open positions inside the penalty box, Neymar has refused to pass the ball. It was evident in the match against Dijon in February and in the 1-0 win against Toulouse earlier this month.
Even in the Round of 16 Champions League draw against Real Madrid, Neymar opted to take the contested shot himself instead of just drifting it on the right towards a frustrated Mbappe. The French international was quite visibly crying out for a pass and yet did not get one.
This is not something the PSG faithful would like to see from their star attackers if they want to uphold their ambitions of winning major honours in the future. Team chemistry is key to a club’s success and a single bit of miscommunication or a fallout can cost a side against such elite competition.
Neymar has had issues with Edinson Cavani as well earlier in the season which was later settled on positive terms. Now Mbappe might be the leading threat to his plans of winning the Balon d’Or trophy. The Brazilian quit Barcelona for this exact reason – to get out of the shadow of Lionel Messi and would rather leave than allow another player to overtake his status as the best player on the team.
Mbappe is not short of the talents that Neymar expressed when he was 19 (questionably better) and can quite possibly follow in the footsteps of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to become one of the leading professionals in the European stage.
However, to chase that dream he might have to find a more favourable climate and this will force PSG to either side with him or sell him to the highest bidder in order to keep Neymar happy. It is uncertain whether Manchester City will able to match the Parisians’ asking price.
