The photo posted on his Instagram account says a lot about his disappointment. Stronger, it seems, than the joy of seeing his team win at the Vélodrome 10 against 11. On this photo without any comment on his part, leaving free rein to all interpretations and liked more than 1.5 a million times (!), Kylian Mbappé appears from behind and head down in the pouring rain, his captain's armband between his right index finger and thumb.
We are playing the 65th minute and the captain of the evening has just seen the number 7, his own, displayed in red on the fourth referee's board. In green appears that of Gonçalo Ramos, to whom he must give way. Smirking at the corners of his lips, pouting with annoyance, the Parisian striker is facing bad days: his last clasico in the Parisian jersey is coming to an end and he passed through it like a shadow.
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Very slowly, the Parisian captain leaves the pitch with a closed face, without even a glance at Luis Enrique located opposite his technical zone, checks a few members of the staff along the sidelines before returning to the locker room in the company of Ousmane Dembélé. According to club members, so as not to stay on the bench while the sky pours downpours of water.
“I'm ready and, as usual, I'm not going to hide”
The French international knows it, he has just produced a dull copy. Far from his standards and the expectations that usually accompany him in major events. “The classic is the time for the great players so, there you go, I'm ready and of course as usual I'm not going to hide,” he said Sunday morning to Téléfoot, with the intention of scoring even more of his mark on this classic that he loves so much.
Result: 31 balls played including 12 lost, no shots, no chances created and questionable individual choices... Mbappé missed his outing at the Vélodrome. There is ultimately little else to say about his performance, except that his replacement is not illogical at the heart of this meeting where Marseille had not planned anything to limit its influence. Besides, didn't Ramos, his replacement, score the break goal after coming on?
Asked about the content of his captain's performance, Luis Enrique first showed his annoyance on Prime Video. “You ask the same question every week, it’s tiring. I'm a coach, I make decisions every day. I will continue to do it until my last day in Paris. I always try to find the best solution for the team. If you don’t understand my decisions, I don’t care,” whispered the PSG coach.
An expletive addressed to Enrique? “I didn’t see anything,” replies the coach
In the wake of the meeting, social networks echoed an alleged swear word (“son of a bitch…”) without us actually knowing if it was really uttered or, if that is the meaning. case, if he was targeting his trainer... Why not the Marseille public who whistled him profusely? An opponent ? Bad weather ? All conjectures are as possible as they are vain.
Questioned again on the subject at a press conference, the Spanish technician left a long silence then, widening his eyes, he replied annoyed: “I saw nothing, saw nothing at all”.
After his exit during the match against Rennes (1-1, February 25) then at half-time against Monaco (0-0, March 1), the top scorer in the championship (24 goals) was surprised of the treatment reserved for him after announcing to its president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi his intention to leave the club at the end of the season. With the impression that the end of his Parisian adventure risked taking an unpleasant turn but he was ready to turn his back and keep quiet. This episode could increase this resentment that the discussion with Luis Enrique, the day after the trip to the Rock, had somewhat alleviated.
Did this bad-day pout continue behind the scenes? According to Milan Skriniar, Mbappé looked completely different after the final whistle. “I didn't see this sequence but I saw him in the locker room after the match, he had a smile and he was happy,” described the Slovak defender who made his return after being injured against Toulouse on January 3.
Three days before a semi-final of the Coupe de France against Rennes at the Parc des Princes, and even more ten days before a quarter-final first leg of the Champions League against FC Barcelona, we will have to observe what fate Luis Enrique intends book at “Kyks”. Between the two men, season 1, episode 37…