PSG boss Christophe Galtier has clarified the leadership structure within his PSG squad following a well-publicised dispute.
Reports from France claimed Galtier was forced to conduct crisis talks with Presnel Kimpembe after he said that Kylian Mbappe was the club's vice-captain under Marquinhos.
With the Brazilian defender absent, Mbappe was handed the armband for the first time during his stint with the Parisian giants, repaying his managers faith with five goals in a French Cup win over Pays de Cassel on Monday.
Speaking following the game, Galtier explained: 'It has been defined like that since the start of the season. I had decided that Kylian should be the vice-captain. He stayed at PSG and he deserves the armband when 'Marqui' is not there.'
And that decision clearly annoyed Kimpembe, who took to social media to criticise Galtier and the club for failing to let him know.
He said: 'In the last few hours I have heard and read a lot about myself. I therefore wish to make things clear in order to avoid continuing to spread false information in this regard. I was not made aware of this decision, this is completely false... That said, I will always respect the decisions of the club.'
However, according to a tweet from Hadrien Grenier the PSG boss has since clarified that he misspoke and that Kimpembe is still part of the leadership structure at the club.
'Mbappé vice-captain? It's a communication error. I misspoke. Kylian is one of the vice-captains. We have four: Mbappé, Ramos, Kimpembe and Verratti.
'Kylian IS ONE of the vice-captains, but he is not THE vice-captain'.
Interestingly, despite having multiple understudies to Marquinhos, World Cup-winning Argentina captain Lionel Messi is not among them.
Despite progressing in the French Cup, PSG have endured a difficult spell in Ligue 1 since the start of the new year.
Galtier's side entered 2023 without a tasting defeat in all competitions, but losses to both Lens, and Rennes have seen former reduce the gap at the top of the French top flight to just three points.