Thierry Henry sympathizes with Kylian Mbappe’s grievances but says he needs to be a team player

Former French striker and current CBS Sports commentator Thierry Henry responded to rumors that Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe is looking to leave the club.

He questioned the club in the French capital’s methods of persuading Mbappe to stay after a summer of speculation that he would move to Real Madrid.

Mbappe is said to have promised that he would have more freedom to play on the wings – which was not fully realized in his day and led to his possible accident.

Henry found that Mbappe is unhappy with the current position he is in – and sympathizes with him – but feels the young star should continue to play there for the good of the team.

Thierry Henry says Mbappe should do what’s best for the team and do what’s asked of him

“We know he doesn’t like it and I think, like I said, nobody likes to be exposed to what you’re not good at. You just don’t like it, but there’s something bigger than everyone else and that’s the club,” Henry told the CBS panel after PSG’s 1-1 draw with Benfica.

But did they make him feel that the club was the most important or did they make him feel that he was more important than the club? And I think at some point for me – and I’ll use my own stories… I didn’t like playing high and wide at Barcelona. I hated it! But I had to do it for the team.

“I haven’t heard anyone say ‘oh what a nice gesture to go to the left’… But at some point I always remember that there is only one rule: the boss asks you to do something, you do it for the good of the team. And your team wins. If your team loses, I would understand your argument.’

Mbappe scored Les Parisiens’ only goal of the evening in their 1-1 draw against Portuguese Benfica

Henry also asked CBS reporter Julien Laurens – a French football reporter – for his insight into why this might be happening and what can be done about it.

“Do you think for the first time he’s in a position where he’s a little exposed to what he doesn’t like in the game?” Henry asked.

“I think you’re right and that’s the crux of the problem. I think there are a lot of people around the club and within the team who even say ‘come on this is not Tony Pulis from Stoke City’ they don’t kick the ball at you and you only play there and then you never get the ball,” Laurens replied.

CBS & ESPN reporter Julien Laurens said PSG’s promises to Mbappe have not been kept

“He has scored more goals in this phase this season than last season. He has Messi and Neymar behind him, he has a system that he also created with full-backs to suit him and to create opportunities for him. And yet, you’re right, he’s not happy. I think the lack of sympathy from some fans is exactly that point – it’s like “you should definitely be happy with what you have”.

His stance is very much: “This is not my best position where I can play and I’m doing well there, but I’d rather play against a striker with more freedom like Neymar and Messi behind me.” And he said he was promised in the summer that they would sign a no. 9.

‘They try [to get] Lewandowski, he only wanted Barcelona. They tried Scamacca, couldn’t match Sassuolo. They draw a young [Hugo] Ekitike which is good, but not ready. So he should play there like you said… and maybe he should be happy about that, I don’t know. But sure, the feeling he has now is that the promises have not been kept and he has made a decision and he wants to go.’

Promises, including finding a strike partner, have not materialized, resulting in Mbappé being rejected