Paris Saint-Germain‘s sporting director Luis Campos has suggested the club made a mistake by signing both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in recent transfer windows.
Cracks seem to have appeared in the relationship between the two PSG megastars, with Neymar this week walking out of interview when asked about his team-mate whilst he was on international duty with Brazil.
The Ligue 1 champions have invested heavily in the pair, with Neymar costing a world record fee of £190m in 2017, followed by Mbappe’s arrival in the French capital, initially on a loan deal before his permanent £159m transfer from Monaco.
PSG have spent heavily on megastars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe to bring success to the club
PSG chief Luis Campos (front) believes that PSG made a mistake in signing Neymar and Mbappe and not investing in other areas of the team
Speaking to the Rothen s’enflamme podcast, Campos admitted that signing both players may have not been a wise decision by the club.
He said: ‘We made the mistake in the past of recruiting two players in the same position.’
‘The transfer window is not good because we lack players in key positions and because we have an overlap of players in other positions.’
The two superstars have put on a public front but there remains tension between them both
While the outlay on Neymar and Mbappe is yet to bring the club that elusive Champions League triumph – with the closest they’ve come to winning the trophy was their defeat to Bayern Munich in the 2020 final – both have been a success domestically.
The Brazilian has netted 111 goals in 155 games for Christophe Galtier’s side and won four league titles with the club. Mbappe has been equally as impressive, with 181 goals in 226 appearances at the Parc de Princes and four championship victories.
Yet, there remains concern over the pair’s relationship. Reports earlier this week indicated that Mbappe was not opposed to seeing Neymar exit the club this summer and doesn’t want the 30-year-old in the side at all.
There was an argument between the pair over a penalty during PSG’s win over Montpellier
Neymar meanwhile is said to have been ‘left astonished by the influence the 23-year-old France striker has been given at PSG’.
When asked about his relationship with Mbappe by reporters after Brazil’s 3-0 win over Ghana last week, his telling reply was to say: ‘With Kylian? I don’t know.’
The pair also got into an on-pitch squabble last month during PSG’s 5-2 victory against Montpellier, over penalty duties.
Mbappe had missed a penalty earlier in the game and wanted a second chance to covert the spot-kick. However, Neymar converted from 12 yards and although the French star would score later in the match, he refused to celebrate with his team-mate.
Publicly the players are putting on smiles, but there is a growing feeling of unrest between the two megastars and further reports that Lionel Messi has had to act as a mediator between his two attacking partners.