French soccer player Kylian Mbappe made a surprising move for his clubmate Neymar despite rumors of the pair having bad blood. Mbappe, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain in the French league, wished Neymar a happy birthday on February 5 via an Instagram story.
Neymar, who turned 31 on February 5, 2023, received a special wish from his teammate Mbappe. Mbappe captioned the Neymar birthday story, “Happy birthday Artist (Brazil flag and magician hat emoji)”
“Enjoy your day”
Kylian Mbappé’s birthday wish for Neymar:
“Happy birthday Artist 🇧🇷🎩 Enjoy your day 🙏🏽 @neymarjr” pic.twitter.com/TECpNSCsKU
— PSG Report (@PSG_Report) February 5, 2023
The Frenchman notably did not wish his other clubmate Lionel Messi. Rumors of a rift between Mbappe and Messi have been on a rise as well since the World Cup final. However, at least for now, Mbappe seems to have made it clear that there is no rift between him and Neymar.
Kylian Mbappe reportedly wanted PSG to sell Neymar
Reports had stated that Mbappe was unhappy at the club for many reasons. Because of these reasons, he was set to move to Real Madrid at the end of last season. However, he made the most unexpected u-turn and signed a new contract with the Paris club.
“Everybody knows I wanted to leave last year, and I was convinced that would be the best decision at that time. The years pass but they are different and the context is different now. This is the country where I have grown up. I have always lived here, and leaving my country wasn’t the right thing. There is a sentimental aspect to his. The sporting project has changed as well. That made me want to stay because I don’t think my story is over yet,” explained Mbappe.
Mbappe wants Neymar out from psg
— Neymarkable (@anfieldrocker) May 21, 2022
More recently, reports stated that Mbappe set three conditions to continue at PSG. Firstly, he wanted Neymar to be sold. Secondly, he wanted Christoph Galtier, PSG manager, to be replaced by Zinedine Zidane. Lastly, he wanted PSG to sign England striker Harry Kane. There is no information about the latter two news, however, PSG’s football advisor Luis Campos responded to the first rumor.
“No. I even heard that Kylian had demanded that we take Neymar out. No. We count on all three. Last year, Kylian was the best player in the world. Messi was adapting, Neymar was injured and Kylian held the team together. He is a huge player,” said Campos.
PSG are set to face Bayern Munich in their next big clash on February 14, in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. However, the French club will miss out on Mbappe, as the forward has muscle problems.