The France captain has had a recent dispute with PSG but set a new club record in their Ligue 1 win over Lens.
A week ago, Kylian Mbappé exploded against Paris Saint-Germain, issuing a statement criticising the club’s marketing campaign in which they used pictures of him and comments made by him with his consent in their season ticket campaign for 2023-24. “PSG is a great club and a great family, but it is not Kylian Saint-Germain”, he fumed on social media. Club president Nasser Al Khelaïfi was forced to intervene in order to defuse the situation in the midst of constant rumours surrounding his prize asset’s possible departure.
Mbappé’s mother: “A kid 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in the social media age”
The latest development in the tale has seen Fayza Lamari, Mbappé’s mother, give an interview on French television channel Public Sénat, in which she explained her son’s reaction and how she tried to stop him from lashing out: “Kylian spoke from his heart in the heat of the moment, he was angry. He reacted like a kid who was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in the social media age. Everyone has their own way of communicating. He called me and he was angry. I understood how he felt and I told him: ‘Right now, in the heat of the moment, is not the time to react, leave it for now and there will be time to ask for explanations later’. And he replied: ‘No, I don’t want to wait. I know what the consequences are and I will accept them.’”
Mbappé’s Instagram post
“I have just watched the club’s season ticket renewal campaign for the 2023-2024 season. At no time was I informed of what the content of the interview would be used for. It seemed like a standard interview at a club marketing day. I don’t agree with it being used in this video. That’s why I fight for individual image rights. PSG is a great club and a great family, but it’s definitely not Kylian Saint-Germain,” read Mbappé’s Instagram post.
After the French superstar’s statement, PSG held a crisis meeting although Lamari says everything was quickly resolved. “It was quick. There was no internal conflict. Kylian’s argument is because of his role in the dressing room. PSG will always be PSG, whether Kylian is there or not. Players come and go, the club remains”, concluded Lamari.
What PSG record did Mbappé break in the win over Lens?
With the conflict with PSG seemingly over, Mbappé has gone back to breaking records on the field. The attacker spoke of his love for the club last week, insisting that his next target is winning the Champions League with them, going some way to quashing rumours that he would leave Paris in the summer. Against Lens on Saturday, the ex-Monaco man opened the scoring to became PSG’s all-time top scorer in Ligue 1, overtaking Edinson Cavani, whose overall goals tally he had already surpassed two months ago.
Mbappé hadn’t scored for three games – something of a drought by his standards – but roared back to form with a superb display against Lens, whose hopes of winning the league title appear to be over as a result of the defeat, which has opened up a nine-point gap at the top of the table.
Mbappé equals Ligue 1 record
The newly-appointed France captain opened the scoring by firing low in off the post on the turn, just minutes after Lens had been reduced to 10 men following the sending-off of Abdul Samed. It was Mbappé’s 139th Ligue 1 strike for PSG, which moves him ahead of Cavani and means he is the first player since Portuguese striker Pauleta to have scored 20 goals in the competition in four successive seasons.
As well as a fine goal, Mbappé also produced a majestic assist for Lionel Messi, who scored PSG’s third goal just before half-time following a delightful flick from his teammate. Christophe Galtier’s side travel to bottom side Angers next weekend, which may give the forward the opportunity to move further ahead in the race for the Ligue 1 Golden Boot (his 20 goals leave him one ahead of Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette as it stands).
