Kylian Mbappé was benched by Paris Saint-Germain for their Ligue 1 clash against Stade de Reims on Sunday, an ongoing trend for the forward amid his looming exit from the club and potential move to Real Madrid.
The France international had been a mainstay for entire matches in Ligue 1 for PSG this season before he informed the club of his intention to leave when his contract expires this summer.
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Sources told ESPN that Mbappé remains in talks with Madrid, who are optimistic about landing the striker.
PSG manager Luis Enrique previously said the club must learn to “live without Mbappé,” and he has not played 90 minutes for PSG in Ligue 1 since Feb. 2, having been substituted early in their past two league matches, as well as making one appearance from off the bench and spending another as an unused substitute.
ESPN reported on March 2 that he felt the substitutions were punishment for leaving the club at the end of the season, and sources said the forward met with Luis Enrique at the club’s training centre last weekend to address tension stemming from his decreasing minutes in Ligue 1.
Mbappé did play the entirety of both of PSG’s Champions League round-of-16 legs against Real Sociedad — the second of which came on Tuesday, which saw Mbappé score twice in a 2-1 away win.
He was quick to dispel reports of a feud with Luis Enrique after Tuesday’s match, saying: “There is no problem with him even if people think there is a problem. I have problems, but the coach is not one of them.”
However, Mbappé began PSG’s clash with Reims on the bench, coming on for the final 20 minutes of the 2-2 draw. His replacement, Goncalo Ramos, scored a first-half goal.
Information from ESPN’s Julien Laurens and Rodrigo Faez was used in this report.
