PSG sensation Kylian Mbappe was booed when he arrived at the Ballon d’Or presentation in Paris.
After news broke last week that the striker was eager to leave Paris-Saint-Germain, fans voiced their dissatisfaction regarding the player.
Despite being one of the club’s top players and a well-known member of the French national team, he encountered hostility when he arrived at the awards ceremony.
Mbappe started to walk toward the building in Paris while wearing a sharp black suit and an umbrella to protect him from the rain.
But as the forward, who in May signed a three-year deal worth £650,000 a week, walked with his entourage, a chorus of jeers could soon be heard.
The 23-year-old kept a straight face and barely acknowledged the crowd, other than a fist bump with one of the onlookers.
When he finally arrived, he grinned for the cameras with the prepared photography crew. And then his father joined him to take some shorts.
The attacker was forced to settle for sixth position in the Ballon d’Or standings, with Sadio Mane, Kevin De Bruyne, and Karim Benzema rounding out the top three.
Recently, Mbappe criticized reports that said he wanted to quit PSG.
The ace was in front of the cameras for the first time since the rumors initially surfaced after he assisted Neymar’s goal in a decisive victory over Marseille.
The Frenchman said: “I am very happy. I have never asked to leave in January.”
“I didn’t understand why the story came out on the day of a game. I was as shocked as everyone.”
“People can think I was involved but I wasn’t at all.”
The Frenchman reportedly felt “betrayed” by the club and some of their transfer activities, according to reports from last week.
His name has since been associated with Premier League powerhouses Manchester City and Liverpool after the story set the rumor mill into overdrive.
Will Kylian Mbappe leave PSG?
Following Sunday’s 1-0 victory over rival Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe denied requesting to leave the team.
In the most recent transfer window, the France international was rumored to be moving to Real Madrid, but he chose to extend his contract with PSG by three years, to 2025.
Even while rumors of a departure appeared to be dead, a recent report claimed that Mbappe planned to quit the team in January.
Both PSG’s head coach Christophe Galtier and sports director Luis Campos have dismissed the exit rumors, and the player himself addressed the rumors after Sunday’s Le Classique match against Marseille.
Mbappe stated to RMC Sport, as cited by Fabrizio Romano: “I have not asked to leave Paris Saint-Germain in January. I’m not furious with the club, it’s not true.”
Mbappe, who has 12 goals in 14 games this season, assisted Neymar on his game-winning goal against Marseille, and he started that week’s Friday’s Ligue 1 match between PSG and Ajaccio.
The 23-year-old opted to leave in January, as sources confirmed, exactly 143 days after agreeing to a three-year deal (two years, with an option for a third) with the team. But he has denied such a report which means he could stay at PSG beyond this season.
