Paris Saint Germain manager Christophe Galtier has denied any rumors of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe being in a feud. He has also highlighted the squad as ‘unified’ and not in disarray. Such claims should hopefully bring a sigh of relief for concerned fans who have observed a potential tension between the stars.
After PSG was knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich, many were doubting the morale of the squad as they again failed to win the European competition. After they managed a late scrap victory against Brest in Ligue 1 on Saturday, the manager praised his squad as unified in an interview.
Rumors of dressing room problems came out in recent times, with many apparently disillusioned with manager Galtier’s tactics and decisions. Especially in the game against Bayern Munich, where he benched Carlos Soler but allowed three teenagers to play as substitutes was a source of disappointment.
What did Christophe Galtier have to say about the situation?
Christophe responded in the interview, “Obviously there is this disappointment, but we have to get this championship title. There is unity. I am a coach who will fight with this team, to get this 11th title.”
He also did admit that the team was down in morale because of the defeat at Munich, “In the dressing room, obviously there was a lot of disappointment and anger too. We stayed on-site in Munich, we traveled yesterday.”
Furthermore, he blew away any possibility of resigning, “Obviously, the players were both tired and very disappointed. Resignation? No. Disappointment, which is quite normal. It’s like that, it’s a big disappointment, there was a lot of expectation from us internally, of course.”
There are also reports from France that star player Kylian Mbappe is on no speaking terms with four members of the squad. The members include Messi, Neymar, Kimpembe, and Verrati.
The game against Brest had started well for PSG when Carlos Soler managed to open the scoring in the 37th minute from Mbappe’s saved shot. Brest managed to quickly equalize in the 43rd-minute midfielder when Franck Honorat scored. After a lengthy match, in the 90th minute, after Nuno Mendes clears the ball, it reaches Messi, who calmly flicks the ball forward to Mbappe, who manages to outrun the defenders and round the goalkeeper to win PSG the game.
The win puts PSG in first place with 66 points from 27 matches as they look to win Ligue 1 after another disappointing UEFA Champions League campaign. They were knocked out 3-0 aggregate by Bayern Munich in the Round of 16.
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Christophe Galtier’s future at PSG is uncertain as both fans, players and the club are unhappy with him. The failure in Europe and domestic cup competition along with the poor performances mean Galtier is at risk of being sacked at the end of the season.
