Mbappe, mad at PSG: "This is not Kylian Saint-Germain"
When you thought you had seen it all, there came PSG once more to prove you wrong. Enter "Kylian Saint-Germain" by way of the fight between Mbappe and the Parisian marketing department.
Just a few matches away from the end of the season and after getting eliminated from the Champions League, PSG's marketing department is already working in luring fans and supporters to buy tickets for the next season.
Who can sell tickets? You guessed it right! Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe, three of the most-followed and world-renowned players in the football landscape. Only, PSG don't seem to think the same.
Instead of showcasing all of his talents, PSG decided to craft a promotional video entirely based on the figure of Kylian Mbappe.
The France international and new captain of the Rouge et Bleu speaks through the whole thing, praises Paris and PSG, and all of that while we watch the likes of Academy players Ismael Gharbi, Ilyes Housni, and Warren Zaire-Emery... recently signed youngster Nuno Mendes... but not a single (important) micro-frame of Messi and Neymar.
Mbappe on Instagram: "PSG is a big club and a big family, but it is certainly not Kylian Saint-Germain"
"The ambiance, the terrain, the atmosphere… The Parc des Princes envelops a lot of things, it's the 12th man, it's what gives us additional strength to fight our battles," underlines Mbappe. "To be Parisian is to be proud of what you are, of what you represent, proud to be ambitious, to want to do things, to want to win, to always surpass yourself, and never forget to where we come from," he states in the video embedded above.
Just in case the video alone doesn't make it clear, it is rather obvious how PSG are trying to distance themselves from the pair of Messi and Neymar and force-feeding their supporters a good spoon filled full of Mbappe. That, of course, is seemingly part of PSG's "new model" and the upcoming ending of the "bling-bling" era in the French capital.
On Thursday, Kylian Mbappe publicly criticized the club and made his disagreement with this campaign well known by posting a message on his social networks.
"I have just watched the club's promotional campaign for the 23/24 season," he wrote in a story posted on IG. "At no time was I informed of the content of the interview with my interlocutor. It looked like a basic interview at a club marketing day. I disagree with this posted video. That's why I fight for individual image rights. PSG is a big club and a big family, but it is certainly not Kylian Saint-Germain," he wrote.
No need to mention, drama followed. PSG removed the video from all platforms, let time go for a while, went through some discussions involving Mbappe, the marketing department, and some higher-ups of the organization, and ultimately re-published the video making it available for everyone to watch again in its original form.
After a "crisis meeting between the marketing department and some communication managers," things seemed to be solved, Mbappe stayed home happy, and he came back to training on Friday in a leading role for PSG.
Drama will always follow PSG, and PSG will always follow Mbappe, it seems.