The head coach of Paris Saint-Germain, Christophe Galtier, responded to claims made by Kylian Mbappe that he has more freedom while playing for France. Galtier admitted that the star forward’s role for the club is “more restricted.”
Mbappe’s comments after scoring a goal in France’s UEFA Nations League win over Austria last week garnered a lot of attention. With this win, France narrowly avoided being demoted from the top tier.
The 23-year-old stated he was required “to do different things” for France, where he played with Olivier Giroud in the absence of Karim Benzema, than with PSG.
“His analysis is fair. He’s not in the same set-up with us as he is with the national squad,” Galtier told reporters on Thursday.
“Given the types of players we have up front, he has a lot less freedom to move around with us, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have any freedom at all.”
Mbappe has reportedly emerged as more of a focal point in the attack for PSG as a result of the club’s failure to sign a traditional centre forward over the summer. This allows Lionel Messi and Neymar to be more involved in the action.
“We were convinced that we needed a fourth player with a different profile, in order to have different solutions and options. This player never arrived, and it’s a shame but that’s the way it is,” said Galtier, whose undefeated side is two points ahead of Marseille at the top of Ligue 1.
“Mbappe has this sort of player on the France squad with Olivier Giroud. We don’t have the same but we have various characteristics.”
