Presnel Kimpembe, Paris Saint-Germain’s 29-year-old central defender, returned to the squad for a match on Tuesday for the first time since February 2023. But he didn’t play against Bayern Munich, which came as no great surprise. Even more surprisingly, he wasn’t even called up for Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Nantes on Matchday 13 of Ligue 1. According to L’Equipe, the player is becoming increasingly annoyed.
“Tension verbalized to certain people”.
“Several inside sources described him as particularly tense in recent hours. A tension verbalized to certain people: “He didn’t understand his absence, clearly. He expressed his frustration with the situation to several members of the club,” they explained. He wondered how he could be in the squad on Tuesday and not on Saturday, when nothing happened between the two matches.
He has always accepted the decisions of the sporting directorate and, above all, the coach. However, the lack of consistency in these decisions, just a few days apart, is incomprehensible to the player.”
“A double discourse that has not been understood by the main interested party.”
So far, the green light hasn’t arrived for Presnel Kimpembe. At least, not from Luis Enrique. For several weeks now, doctors and members of the performance department have been telling the player that he is now ready to return to competition. This double talk has not been understood by the player himself. He’s trying to understand what’s going on,” says our inside source. He’s wondering what the problem is”.
Perhaps Kimpembe is disappointed not to be playing, or even a little impatient and annoyed. But, rather like the problem between Luis Enrique and 27-year-old striker Ousmane Dembélé, we have the feeling that the sports paper is taking advantage of the negative mood surrounding the results to add to the drama.
Indeed, it may come as a surprise that the player won’t be in the squad this Saturday. But does the question really come from the player or the newspaper? It’s conceivable that the staff could have explained the situation to him.
For example, Kimpembe could have been in the squad on Tuesday to make the trip and prepare for the match. But this wasn’t necessary for a home match. He could have trained the day before and been with the players at the Parc des Princes anyway.
Let’s let PSG live a little without adding problems that aren’t apparent or serious. Even if the player is tense while waiting for his return, it’s not necessarily a particular problem. It’s a good thing he wants to play! Then it’s up to the club’s doctors and staff to decide when is the right time.
