Mbappé leaves cryptic message after anger at being subbed

The PSG star was clearly annoyed at being taken off by Luis Enrique in Le Classico and later  published a post on Instagram that quickly went viral. What was he trying to say?

Sunday’s Classico between Olympique Marseille and PSG brought up the Parisians 18th victory of the campaign and once again left Kylian Mbappé as the protagonist. The No.7 was substituted on 65 minutes with Luis Enrique’s leading 0-1. The forward was clearly not happy about being taken off and was seen trudging back to the bench visibly upset. Later, during his post-match press conference, the Asturian coach reiterated that his decisions are intended to “seek the best for the team” adding that he is “tired of always being asked about the same thing”.

Mbappé’s last Classico

Later, on Instagram, Mbappé uploaded a photo that generated a stir on social media. In an image in which he is seen from behind, armband in hand, in the rain, at the moment of substitution, the captain showed his apparent sadness - either at being substituted early or because he realizes that this was his last Classico against Olympique Marseille before he leaves PSG in June.

Our of the last seven Ligue 1 matches, Mbappé has only played one full game - in Montpellier on matchday 26, a match in which he scored a hat-trick to hand PSG a 2-6 victory. Since it was confirmed, through an unofficial statement from the club, in mid-February, that he will not renew his contract, Luis Enrique has been using him sparingly in Ligue 1. The coach is aware that sooner or later, the team must adapt to playing without its best player - as he has stressed several times with his dealings with the media.

What is not in question, at least at the moment, is that Mbappé will be substituted in crucial matches in which there is a trophy at stake - unlike PSG’s situation in Ligue 1, where the team is 12 points clear at the top of the standings. Kylian is likely to  play most or all of Wednesday’s Coupe de France semi-final against Rennes and both of the Champions League quarter final legs against Barcelona on 10 and 16 April.

Luis Enrique did take him off in either the Champions League Round of 16 return leg against Real Sociedad or in the Coupe de France quarter final tie against Nice.

The relationship between Luis Enrique and Mbappé is cordial, but the PSG coach is making decisions in order to prepare his team to get used to competing without their star player, whose future has been decided since the beginning of the year. On Wednesday, against Rennes, in the Cup semis, both will seek to guide the Parisian team to its first final of the oldest tournament in French football for the first time in the last three years.