Kylian Mbappé was benched by Paris Saint-Germain for their Ligue 1 clash against Stade de Reims on Sunday, a continuing trend for the striker amid his impending departure from the club and possible move to Real Madrid.
The French international had been a mainstay for entire matches in Ligue 1 for PSG this season before informing 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 signing the forward.
PSG coach Luis Enrique previously said the club must learn to “live without Mbappé”, and has not played 90 minutes for PSG in Ligue 1 since February 2, having been substituted early in their last two games. league, in addition to having made one. appearance from the bench and passing 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 Luis Enrique at the club's training center last weekend to discuss the tension derived from his increasingly fewer minutes in Ligue 1. .
Mbappé played in all of PSG's two Champions League round of 16 matches against Real Sociedad, the second of which came on Tuesday, in which Mbappé scored twice in a 2-1 away win.
He was quick to dispel rumors of a dispute with Luis Enrique after Tuesday's game, saying: “There is no problem with him, even if people think there is a problem. I have problems, but the manager is not one of them. “.
However, Mbappé started PSG's clash with Reims on the bench, coming on for the final 20 minutes of the 2-2 draw. His replacement, Gonçalo Ramos, scored a goal in the first half.
Information from ESPN's Julien Laurens and Rodrigo Faez was used in this report.
