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Kylian Mbappe insisted he has ‘no problems’ with Luis Enrique after playing the full 90 minutes for Paris Saint-Germain for the first time in almost a month on Tuesday niht.
The French superstar scored both goals in PSG’s 2-1 win away against Real Sociedad as the Ligue 1 giants progressed to the Champions League quarter-finals as 4-1 winners on aggregate.
The win in San Sebastian marked the first time since February 14 that Mbappe has played an entire match for PSG.
The France captain was taken off at half-time during PSG’s goalless draw with his old club Monaco on Friday, having been subbed after 65 minutes of the draw against Rennes a week earlier.
Mbappe, who scored either side of half-time on Tuesday night, also came off the bench in a 2-0 win over Nantes last month.
Kylian Mbappe insisted he has ‘no problems’ with PSG boss Luis Enrique
The pair shared a hug after Mbappe scored twice in PSG’s 2-1 win over Real Sociedad
The 25-year-old informed the Ligue 1 club last month that he would leave them as a free agent at the end of the season to join Real Madrid.
However, he insisted the decision was not motivated by a rift with Luis Enrique, with whom he shared a hug at full-time.
‘I always want to play in the Champions League – it is a very important competition. I could never be a player who hides,’ he told French broadcaster Canal Plus on Tuesday.
‘My relationship with the coach is good. There is no problem even if people might think that there is. I have many issues but the coach is not one of them.’
Asked about Mbappe’s substitutions in recent games, manager Luis Enrique told Canal Plus: ‘Kylian will score 50 goals, make 25 assists with any coach, any team.
‘Apparently, his immediate future won’t be here so we’ll have to test other solutions.’
Luis Enrique has insisted his decision to bench Mbappe for the past two Ligue 1 games was not form of punishment, but stemmed from him not being fully fit
According to ESPN, the duo reportedly held clear-the-air talks after Mbappe, who has scored 34 goals in 34 games this season, was substituted off early in his past two matches.
The forward was unhappy to be taken off and asked to speak with the manager to address the matter amid tensions between the pair.
Luis Enrique reportedly told the forward it wasn’t personal and nothing to do with his decision to leave the Parc des Princes. Instead, he believed Mbappe wasn’t fully fit and wanted to save him for upcoming games of greater importance.
But ESPN said the feeling in the player’s camp is that he’s being punished for wanting to leave.
Despite dropping four points in their last two games, PSG remain a comfortable 12 points clear of Brest at the top of Ligue 1.
