Kylian Mbappe dismisses ‘fake’ news about wanting Neymar and Pochettino out of PSG

Mbappe has shut down rumours he is pushing for 14 big names to be axed from PSG.

Kylian Mbappe, if you believe all of what you read, runs the show at Paris Saint-Germain these days. As an added incentive to sign his lucrative extension at the Parc des Princes, some reports claimed the 23-year-old had been given permission to do... well, whatever he feels like at the club in the years to come, including having a major say on sporting decisions.

Mbappe 'wanted 14 big names to be axed from PSG.'

It all seemed a little far-fetched, to be honest, especially the recent claims that Mbappe had asked that as many as 14 of PSG's big names, including Mauricio Pochettino and Neymar, were shown the door this summer. The claim, which appears to have originated in Mundo Deportivo, did the rounds on Thursday and was widely shared across social media. Word eventually reached Mbappe, prompting him to respond via Twitter on Thursday evening. Replying to a since-deleted tweet from Sport Bible, which summarised the rumour, Mbappe responded with the word 'FAKE', followed by a red cross. https://twitter.com/KMbappe/status/1532451630117011460

Mbappe turned down Real Madrid last month.

Mbappe prolonged his stay at PSG last month, despite appearing near-certain to join Real Madrid only days before his extension was confirmed. The World Cup winner is said to have notified Real president Florentino Perez of his decision to stay in Paris via Whatsapp days before the news was confirmed. He has since refused to rule out the possibility of joining the European champions at some point in the future during an interview with the BBC. As well as Pochettino and Neymar, the report on Thursday claimed Mbappe wanted Mauro Icardi​, Julian Draxler, Ander Herrera, Idrissa Gueye, Leandro Paredes,​ and Thilo Kehrer to leave the club. Danilo Pereira, Layvin Kurzawa, Pablo Sarabia​, Juan Bernat, Colin Dagba​ and Sergio Rico were also thought to be in danger of being axed.

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