Angel Di Maria has questioned Paris Saint-Germain’s decision to hand Kylian Mbappe ‘all the power’ – especially with the presence of Lionel Messi in their team.
The French club tied Mbappe down to a new three-year contract in May, reportedly worth up to £4m a month, plus a £100m signing-on fee, making him the highest-paid player in the world.
PSG’s contract is also believed to include authority over picking the team and hiring and firing managers, which has led to tensions with team-mates like Brazilian forward Neymar.
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And Di Maria told ESPN Argentina that he is ‘surprised’ PSG have given so much responsibility on Mbappe, particularly given they also boast Lionel Messi, one of the greatest players of all time, in their team.
He said: ‘I think France in general have given Mbappe a lot of responsibility. The people, the president, PSG.
‘They made him stay when he could have left and gave him all the power to be him and no one else.
‘But there’s a big difference, they gave him all that power with the best in history [Messi] next to him.
‘I think they gave him all that power and strength because he’s French, he was born there, won a World Cup and has an extraordinary career ahead of him. But all that aside, when I was at PSG he was a good boy and I don’t think he’s changed so much.’
Mbappe is considered one of the best players of the current generation and has 25 goals in 27 matches in all competitions this campaign.
He was linked with a summer move to La Liga giants and European champions Real Madrid but chose to stay in the French capital.
Di Maria played alongside the former Monaco star at the Parc des Princes from 2017 to 2022, before leaving for Serie A side Juventus on a free transfer.
