PSG: Mauricio Pochettino plays down Kylian Mbappe-Neymar dispute

[Animous]

Paris St-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino has played down any falling-out between Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

Mbappe appeared to complain to a team-mate on the bench "he doesn't give me the pass", seemingly about Neymar, after being replaced late on in Saturday's win over Montpellier.

"They are fantastic guys. These things happen," said Pochettino.

"There are always things between top players. They are competitors who want to win and help the team achieve good."

PSG host Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Brazil's Neymar, 29, and France's Mbappe, 22, have linked up well together for PSG since joining in the summer of 2017 - for the two biggest transfer fees of all time.

Mbappe has scored 136 goals in 180 games for PSG, with Neymar - who has had frequent injury problems - hitting 88 in 121.

"I have spoken to them individually," he said. "They may have also spoken to each other and there have been photos of them enjoying ourselves in training.

"If there is a small incident sometimes that can create a wave but it is actually just talk."

Meanwhile, Pochettino says it will take time for Neymar, Mbappe and new signing Lionel Messi to click.

Will Messi end PSG drought against Man City?

Messi likely to be in squad to face City

Messi, who played with Neymar at Barcelona, has failed to score in three games since joining on a free transfer.

"Of course they need time to work together," said Pochettino. "I think they need time to work in different environments and to link up in a different way than they did in the past, when they met in different clubs.

"Of course they are all different and may need time to get to know each other and start to play naturally because, of course, PSG is always under pressure."

Pochettino says his fellow Argentine Messi will need time to adapt to France. The 34-year-old is playing for a club other than Barcelona for the first time in his professional career.

"We are talking about the best player in the world," said Pochettino.

"You need to understand that he is a man like us that needs to adapt to the new club, the family needs to adapt to the new society and new culture.

"Let people work, let the player adapt and start to feel at home. He was at Barcelona for 20 years. It is normal that he feels at home in Barcelona.

"Now everything is new. He arrived not too long ago. Over the time we are working together he is getting to know his team-mates and, for sure, he's going to succeed. I hope he wins big things for the club. That is what we are hoping for.

[Silent Watcher]

Avoid unnecessary posts such as 'Thank you', 'Welcome', etc. Such posts will be deleted and user will be warned if it happens again. If caught spamming, the following actions are applicable -

• First time - Warning
• Second time - 5000 Points will be deducted
• Third time - Ban for 7 days
• Fourth time - Permanent Ban

If the post helped you, reward the user by reacting to the post like this -