Kimpembe lets rip about Mbappé, « he wore me out »

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·21 May 2026

Kimpembe lets rip about Mbappé, « he wore me out »

Presnel Kimpembe, the 30-year-old defender for Qatar SC who came through the Paris Saint-Germain academy before playing there professionally for many years until 2025, spoke to RMC Sport on Wednesday evening. It was an opportunity for him to give his thoughts on the criticism aimed at Kylian Mbappé, the 27-year-old Real Madrid and France forward whom he played alongside at PSG from 2017 to 2024. He also had a word on the trio he formed with Neymar and Lionel Messi.

Kimpembe: “I always told him”

Does he cope well with media pressure? “He was always criticized in Paris too. That’s Kylian, he’s like that, he’s built for it. He has grown up with that his whole life, so it’s not a surprise. Is he criticized for not defending enough? “I always told him, he drove me crazy with that when he didn’t run.

Kimpembe: “You have to look at the bright side”

Is he still a leader? “He has already shown it, whether at PSG or with the France team. Even in Madrid, he is capable of taking the team on his shoulders and lifting it. After that, the results at PSG, especially in the Champions League, didn’t turn out the way we all would have dreamed. You have to look at the bright side: Kylian is a very great player, everyone knows that.”

Kimpembe: “In terms of egos, it was hard.”

The Mbappé, Neymar and Messi trio? “Obviously, now people are going to say it couldn’t work because we didn’t manage to win a Champions League with the three of them, even though it was a legendary team. In terms of egos, it was hard. We have to tell the truth, and even they say it themselves. I’m very happy to have played with them. I’m very proud to have been able to play with players of that caliber. If you had told me that 15 years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

Kimpembe cannot hide it: seeing Mbappé not defend is frustrating. It is also extra strain on his teammates, because they have to make up for the work he does not do. That has also caused problems for Real Madrid since his arrival. It is time for the forward to evolve, even if he scores a lot of goals thanks to his qualities. Qualities that should obviously not be overlooked.

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We also know the argument used to defend him well: he preserves his energy for attacking duties. However, PSG have clearly shown over the last two years that it is possible to do both. Still, to be fair, he was far from the only one who was not beyond reproach. The trio with Messi and Neymar was a dream on paper, except it lacked balance. It is a shame, because there is a feeling that Paris missed out on a mix that could have made history.

Today, the regrets are limited, since the revival has arrived and taken Paris to the top of Europe. One can even think that this failure of stars pushed PSG toward its new philosophy. We will not go so far as to thank Mbappé for his behavior, but the time for anger is clearly over.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.