Former Paris Saint-Germain winger, Jerome Rothen, has claimed that forward Neymar is struggling to accept that his teammate Kylian Mbappe is at the forefront of the Parisians and not him.
According to Rothen, that is the real problem causing a rift between Mbappe and Neymar at PSG.
Mbappe signed a three-year deal with PSG earlier this summer.
The France international returned to action in PSG’s 5-2 win over Montpellier last weekend and sparked controversy with his attitude on the pitch.
However, Neymar, who has been on top form so far this season, scored twice against Montpellier, with one coming from the penalty spot.
The rivalry between Neymar and Mbappe reportedly exploded after the Brazilian snubbed the 23-year-old forward from penalty duty.
Speaking on RMC (via Foot Mercato), Rothen shared his thoughts on the brewing rift between Neymar and Mbappe.
Rothen said: “There is a problem within the club compared to everything that has been sold to Kylian so that he can stay. There are things that do not hold true. It’s a problem of hierarchy. In my opinion, (Kylian Mbappe) has no problem with Neymar because in no case did he ask that Neymar leave the club.”
He added: “It is the club that sold him a project where he is at the forefront of this project and that he was without Neymar at the base. How did Neymar accept that; how does he digest it? Apparently, he has trouble digesting and accepting the fact that Kylian is at the top of the project and that he is behind. That’s a real problem.
“If there are ego problems, and I can say that this is the reality, it will be difficult to manage for the staff, not only for Christophe Galtier but also for Luis Campos, Antero Henrique, the president, the club, the Emir, the supporters. It will be complicated; at the first gap, there will be problems between the two.”
PSG’s next Ligue 1 tie is against Lille at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Sunday.
