PSG boss Tuchel responds to Zidane's declaration of love for Mbappé
Thomas Tuchel has stressed that Kylian Mbappé remains a PSG player while implying that Zindedine Zidane “can’t have” him.
PSG coach Thomas Tuchel has responded to Zinedine Zidane’s comments about Kylian Mbappé, in which the Real Madrid boss stated he was “in love with the” Parisian club’s young star player.
Mbappé has been the subject of much attention ahead of the Champions League meeting of the two clubs on Tuesday at the Bernabéu.
And amid intensifying speculation linking the 20-year-old with a future move to Madrid, Tuchel stressed that Mbappé remains a PSG player and one that Zidane “can’t have”.
Asked about Zidane’s comments in a press conference ahead of Tuesday’s crunch tie, Tuchel said: “I don't know how much love Zidane has for Mbappé. For us he is the most important player. And we are very happy that he is with us.
“Sometimes it is like that. Sometimes you love players that you can't have. Unfortunately for Zidane he is our player and I think he also has many players that he is in love with on his own team.”
Tuchel not bothered by Zidane’s Mbappé comments
Zidane’s latest declaration of love for Mbappé comes three weeks after he had claimed that the young striker’s dream was to play for Real Madrid.
"At the moment he plays for Paris Saint-Germain, we'll see in the future if that changes. I know he always said his dream is to play for Real Madrid,” said the Blancos boss.
But Tuchel has played down the significance of Zidane’s comments, saying he has paid little heed to what the Frenchman has had to say about PSG's young talisman,
Pushed on whether the Madrid coach’s recent statements on Mbappé had made him angry, the PSG boss responded: “No. I wouldn’t like to discuss this issue. I was in Geneva two weeks ago talking with Zidane at the coaches meeting and we didn't talk about this topic.
“If you ask me about Mbappé and if you ask him, he is French and will answer something like that. It's normal for many coaches to love him, but I'm not angry. It doesn't bother me because I don't care much.”