Lionel Messi’s arrival at Paris Saint-Germain may have created some divisions in the dressing room.
There have also been noticeable moments of friction in the first four months of Messi’s time with fellow forwards Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Messi snubbing manager Mauricio Pochettino’s handshake after being taken off in September caused an understandable furore.
There was also the incident in October, when formerly inseparable Neymar and Mbappe had a war of words during the clash with Montpellier.
Mbappe admitted he called the Brazilian a “tramp” (clochard in French) amid frustrations at a lack of passes.
But while there may be no lingering resentment, L’Equipe reports that the two forwards are no longer as close to each other since Messi’s arrival, with the two former Barcelona stars spending a lot of time together.
It is suggested that the PSG dressing room is divided between French speakers led by Presnel Kimpembe and Idrissa Gueye and Spanish speakers and their allies like Marco Veratti and Julian Draxler.
Mbappe had previously been a part of the latter group, but has recently drifted back over to the former and away from his fellow forwards.