Mbappe's "eat well" lecture was not aimed at Neymar

Neymar and Mbappe ran the show for PSG before the Brazilian's injury

LIGUE 1 Mbappe's "eat well" lecture was not aimed at Neymar

Ayoola Kelechi 10:41 - 20.02.2023

Mbappe says he never tried to attack Neymar with his comments

Kylian Mbappe has dispelled rumours that he was specifically referring to Neymar when he said his Paris Saint-Germain teammates needed to eat and sleep well. 

Mbappe asked his teammates to take better care of their bodies 

Following PSG's loss to Bayern Munich, Mbappe stated that his teammates needed to be in top shape for the return leg and should eat and sleep well, and most people assumed he was referring to Brazilian superstar Neymar due to the PSG number 10’s antecedents. 

However, Mbappe has stated categorically that he was not taking a dig at Neymar but just trying to rally his teammates ahead of a crucial part of their season. 

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ng/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

After PSG’s win over Lille, while speaking with Prime Video France, Mbappe said, “I was never attacking or pointing the finger at Neymar when I mentioned we need to eat and sleep well."

He also wished Neymar a speedy recovery from his injury, saying, “I hope he will come back quickly because he is an essential player for us.”

Neymar and Mbappe propelled PSG to victory over Lille

Mbappe and Neymar were among the protagonists as PSG secured a dramatic win over Lille in Ligue 1 this weekend. 

The pair combined for PSG’s opening goal against Lille after Neymar found Mbappe before the France international skipped past two defenders and slotted home. 

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ng/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Mbappe, speaking about the goal, said that he only called for the ball at a tight angle because he had faith in Neymar’s ability to find him with a pass. 

“My Goal? I made my call when Neymar had the ball because he is able to give me the ball in any position.” Mbappe said. 

PSG will be without Neymar for at least one week after the 31-year-old playmaker was taken off injured with a suspected ankle injury, but PSG hope that he will still be available for the Champions League tie against Bayern Munich.

Related content