Former France international Jean-Michel Larque has laid into Kylian Mbappe for his recent performances, insisting the World Cup winner “has no place at PSG right now” as he is more interested in humiliating his opponents than playing productive football.
New head coach Mauricio Pochettino lifted his first piece of silverware on Thursday after replacing Thomas Tuchel in the Parc des Princes dugout, with goals from Mauro Icardi and Neymar securing a 2-1 victory in which Mbappe received only a late yellow card for his efforts.
Larque, who represented PSG as both a player and a coach, has called for radical changes to be made to Mbappe's game if he is to continue being counted amongst the best players in world football.
“Kylian Mbappe has no place at Paris Saint-Germain right now,” Larque told RMC Sport's Top of the Foot show. “I'm not going to drill a hole in his skull and find out what's in there, but he's complicating things. He's complicating everything he does. Why is doing rabonas? Why is he doing twelve stepovers if he's just staying in the same place?
“The boy needs a detoxification, a cure for his football which is totally polluted with unnecessary moves. What gives a boy like his his strength is his speed, but we're not seeing that anymore.”
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That cure could come from Pochettino, according to Larque, who is hoping the Argentine boss has more sway over Mbappe than his predecessor and can get the 22-year-old back to his brilliant best.
“I'm going to see if Pochettino has more courage than Tuchel, or more of a hold of Mbappe,” he said. “I don't know the little secrets of Camp des Loges, I don't know if it was Tuchel who commanded Mbappe or the other way around.
“He needs to go clear his mind and watch some videos where he plays one-twos or drops deep for the ball. Today he wants the ball at his feet so he can ridicule his opponent. Obviously with his burst of speed he can get past opponents, but he will lose the ball in behind. I don't have the stats, but against OM he lost an incredible number of balls.”
PSG return to Ligue 1 action with a trip to Angers on Saturday.