Kylian Mbappe sparked fury among his Paris Saint-Germain teammates Neymar and Lionel Messi when claiming that South American international competition was weaker than in Europe.
The comments drew the fury of Brazil boss Tite who responded that they did not “have to play Azerbaijan” to qualify for the World Cup. While none of Mbappe’s PSG teammates have issued a similar response, the comments went down very badly within the dressing room.
It is part of the background which provided the context for Mbappe and Neymar spectacularly falling out during PSG’s Ligue 1 clash against Montpellier last weekend. Neymar did not allow the Frenchman to take his side’s second spot-kick after the Frenchman had seen his first effort saved – with a public feud then being played out.
Sergio Ramos was reportedly forced to step in to separate the feuding pair in the dressing room after the match and the fallout did not stop there, as Neymar went on to 'like' two social posts that slammed Mbappe over the episode, including a post that said the Frenchman “controlled” the club. That comment was within the context of reports claiming that Mbappe would hold great sway in the club's sporting decisions as part of his new three-year contract extension with the Ligue 1 champions.
One of the key areas of contention between the two superstars revolve around comments made by Mbappe back in May, where he claimed that South American international football was a level behind Europe and not as “developed”.
Mbappe explained: "Argentina and Brazil don't have that level of competition in South America, the football is not as developed as in Europe, that is why most recent World Cup winners have been Europeans."
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As explained by Goal, Messi and Neymar led the indignation to those comments within the PSG dressing room – which has a strong South American contingent. Argentine duo Leandro Paredes and Mauro Icardi are also at the club, as well as Brazilians Marquinhos and Rafinha.
In response to Mbappe’s comments, Brazil international boss Tite explained: "Maybe [Mbappe] is talking about these Nations League clashes or European friendlies, but not World Cup qualifiers. We don't have, with all due respect, Azerbaijan to play. We don't have anyone that gives you a break. The qualifiers here have a much higher degree of difficulty than the group stage [of European qualifying]."
Mbappe's comments have also resulted in a reaction from Argentine and Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez, who said: "I saw what [Mbappe] said, but Argentina and Brazil have players of great quality and talent. Brazil, just like us, has most of its players in Europe. I thought it was an unfair comment."
