MY ACCOUNT
Kylian Mbappe must wait to show why he was worth the bumper pay deal that kept him at Paris Saint-Germain, with the striker unexpectedly forced to miss the team’s Ligue 1 opener.
The reigning French champions announced that Mbappe, who was pictured in training on Thursday, would miss Saturday’s game away to Clermont due to an adductor injury.
That will surely be welcome news for minnows Clermont, who suffered at Mbappe’s hands last season. The France star scored once in PSG’s 4-0 home win over Clermont, and then hit a hat-trick in a 6-1 away trouncing in April.
Mbappe’s absence came in a team news bulletin from PSG that said an update on the 23-year-old, who signed a new three-year contract in May, would come in 72 hours’ time.
It means Christophe Galtier, the coach who replaced Mauricio Pochettino last month, will be unable to field Mbappe together with Neymar and Lionel Messi this weekend.
Galtier’s first competitive match with the big three at his disposal must wait, perhaps for the home game against Montpellier on Saturday, August 13.
Mbappe also missed last weekend’s Trophee des Champions match. He was absent due to suspension for a game that saw PSG thrash Nantes 4-0, with Messi scoring the opener, Neymar netting twice and Sergio Ramos also weighing in on an all-star demolition of last season’s Coupe de France winners.
Reports have claimed Mbappe’s new contract, which kept him out of the clutches of long-time admirers Real Madrid, is worth around €50million annually and came with an even heftier signing-on fee.
He was PSG’s top scorer last season, netting 39 goals from 46 games across all competitions, playing no part in just three Ligue 1 matches.
