Reports say Mbappé ‘disconnected’ from PSG and has ‘mental exhaustion’

All the noise and commotion surrounding Kylian Mbappé's departure from PSG has caused the player, according to rumours in France, to suffer mental and physical exhaustion that has prevented him from performing in recent matches.

Luis Enrique, aware that the player’s future lies outside Paris, has taken minutes away from him in Ligue 1, which has increased the buzz on the banks of the Seine regarding the player’s relationship with his coach.

Of the last seven matches in the domestic championship, the French national team captain only played 90 in one, against Montpellier on March 17. After confirming his decision not to renew to PSG before the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Real Sociedad, his untouchable status has completely vanished, save for this Wednesday against Rennes and in the two-legged affair against Barcelona.

Mbappé is no stranger to all the fuss about his departure from PSG; although he has always shown himself to be a professional, he did not expect the club to confirm his decision so soon, while he, in all public appearances, had not announced that he was to leave Paris in June.

L’Équipe alludes to mental exhaustion on the part of the player, from whom everyone expects his best version in April to bring PSG closer to winning a treble that would be historic for the club. Mentally, Mbappé has not had an easy two months, firstly because of the pressure of leaving the Parisians in the summer and secondly because he is in the news every week in the matches in which Luis Enrique hooks him from the field.

The latest episode of this bipolar relationship occurred on Sunday, in the French soccer Classique in Marseille, after the coach replaced him in the 63rd minute with PSG winning 0-1. Those close to the player took that change as “a lack of respect”, since, barring a surprise, it was the last Classique that the forward would play, despite the fact that he was the outfield player who lost the most balls and was isolated from the game.

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This lack of commitment - wear and tear according to those closest to him, saturation according to others - has also caused many to question and Mbappé's commitment to PSG. “There are sequences where, surprisingly, he seems disconnected from the game and his activity resembles that of Lionel Messi in recent years. These shortcomings have more to do with mental exhaustion than athletic deficiencies,” describes L’Équipe, alluding to matches in which the club’s all-time leading scorer has not performed.

The Rennes game will be the next acid test for Mbappé and Luis Enrique. Both professionals are aware that they must put aside their differences and put the collective interests of PSG above all else.

Barring a surprise, the manager will not have to reduce Mbappé's minutes in the Cup semi-finals unless the side are winning by a comfortable margin. It is a match to iron out the differences and rediscover the best Mbappé, one who can guide the Ligue 1 leaders to their first cup final in three years.