Former France and AS Monaco midfielder Emmanuel Petit has hit out at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Kylian Mbappe for his contentious comments while on international duty.
Mbappe, 23, has been the talk of the town since before the start of the summer transfer window. After ending his contract saga at the Parc des Princes, he stole the headlines with a supposed rift with his club teammate Neymar at the start of the ongoing 2022-23 season.
A complete forward renowned for his pace and finishing, he recently made waves with his comments about new PSG head coach Christophe Galtier's setup. During the recent international break, he compared his duties for France and his club. He said (via Foot Mercato):
"I play differently here. I am asked other things here in relation to my club. I have a lot more freedom. The coach knows that there is a number nine like Olivier [Giroud] who occupies the defence and I can walk around and go into space. In Paris, it's different. I am asked to do the pivot, it is different."
Speaking on RMC Sport, Petit slammed Mbappe for his recent comments and claimed that he should have had a discussion with Galtier instead of opening up in front of the media. He said:
"It always concerns the same player. At some point, he has to stop. Does it happen to him for two seconds when he speaks, because he is intelligent, to realize the consequences of his words? There is a boomerang effect."
He added:
"Tell your coach privately. We talk about the very heart of the team and you put it in the public square. Me, if I'm in the place of [Lionel] Messi and company, I'm starting to get fed up every time he speaks. The next step, we will ask him about the team he wants to have. This is the next step."
Mbappe has been in a rich vein of form in the ongoing 2022-23 campaign for PSG. Operating as the main striker in a 3-4-2-1 system, he has netted 10 times in nine appearances across all competitions.
PSG, who are on an unbeaten run in Ligue 1 this season, will next take on OGC Nice at the Parc des Princes on Saturday (October 1).
Kylian Mbappe requested PSG to offload three players this summer - Reports
According to Le10Sport, PSG accepted a number of clauses in Kylian Mbappe's new contract, which included departures from the existing squad.
The former Monaco man is said to have made vital sporting decisions to move Ander Herrera, Mauro Icardi, and Julian Draxler out of the club.
The trio secured loan deals to Athletic Bilbao, Galatasaray and Benfica respectively during the summer transfer window.