MY ACCOUNT
Thierry Henry has warned Kylian Mbappe that no player is bigger than the club, urging the Paris Saint-Germain star to conform to tactical demands amid reports he may seek an exit.
World Cup-winning forward Mbappe signed a bumper three-year extension in Paris ahead of the 2022-23 season, seemingly ending speculation over a move to Real Madrid.
On Tuesday, however, PSG advisor Luis Campos was forced to address reports that Mbappe wants to leave in January, stating the France international has never expressed such intentions to the club.
The 23-year-old responded with a first-half penalty at the Parc des Princes against Benfica, becoming PSG’s top scorer in the Champions League as he surpassed Edinson Cavani’s 30-goal benchmark.
Reports suggest Mbappe has become unsettled for numerous reasons, including being unwilling to operate out wide, but Henry says his fellow Frenchman must play where he is instructed.
“Nobody likes to be exposed to what you are not good at,” Henry said on CBS Sports. “You just don’t like it. But there is something that is bigger than anything else and that is the club.
“Did they make him feel like the club was the most important thing or did they make him feel like he was more important than the club?
“I will use my own story. I didn’t like to play out high and wide for Barcelona. I hated it, but I did it for the team.
“I didn’t like it. After a hundred caps and I don’t know how many goals I scored for France, I had to play on the left.
“I didn’t hear anyone say, ‘Oh, what a nice gesture!’ to go on the left instead of players who had fewer goals and fewer caps.
“There is only one rule. If the boss asks you to do something, you do it; if it’s good for the team. If it’s bad for the team, I would get the argument.”
PSG sit level on eight points with Benfica at the Group H summit after Joao Mario cancelled out Mbappe’s opener with a spot-kick of his own, earning a point for Roger Schmidt’s side.
