Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique has criticized Kylian Mbappé’s performance in his side’s 3-0 win over Reims.
Mbappé scored all three PSG goals, bringing his season total to 15 goals in 15 matches. However, Luis Enrique told reporters afterwards that Mbappé “can offer a better version” of himself and should focus on “helping the team more”.
The former Barcelona coach said: “Today, I’m not very happy with Kylian Mbappé. I have nothing to say about the objectives. But he can help the team more, in another way.
“Kylian is one of the best in the world. But we need more. We want him to do even more.”
Saturday’s hat-trick put Mbappé six goals clear at the top of the Ligue 1 goalscoring charts. However, in recent years questions have been raised about the Frenchman’s work rate. After the victory, Luis Enrique suggested Mbappé had the potential to be even better.
“I think he can improve and he has a lot of room to improve and he can reach a higher level. That’s our goal, not to be complacent and to make Kylian participate even more in every part of the game.,” he said.
What did Kylian Mbappé say after PSG’s hat-trick?
Mbappé’s contract with PSG will expire at the end of the 2023/24 season, meaning he is free to sign pre-contract terms with other European clubs from January. During the summer it was strongly linked to a move of the French capital, with real Madrid considered the most likely destination.
He has not spoken on the subject since the summer, when speculation led him to be omitted from pre-season tour of Asia. But after the victory against Reims, journalists asked him about the situation.
“The most important thing, what I wanted (last summer) was to play football“, said Mbappé. “I leave the rest to you (the journalists), who do it well. I don’t want to talk about anything else. I think that’s enough.”
Mbappé added that he was happy with his performance in the win against Reims, but that scoring goals was not his only priority.
He said: “The most important thing is to enjoy the game. To be honest, I don’t need to play well to score. But what I want is to play well and score.