Luis Enrique criticises Kylian Mbappé despite PSG hat-trick

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique has hit out out at Kylian Mbappé's performance in his side’s 3-0 win over Reims.

Mbappé scored all three of PSG’s goals, taking his tally for the season to 15 goals in 15 matches. However Luis Enrique told reporters afterwards that Mbappe “can offer a better version” of himself, and should focus on “helping the team more.”

The former Barcelona head coach said: ”Today I am not very happy with Kylian Mbappé. I have nothing to say about the goals. But he can help the team more, in another way.”

“Kylian is one of the best in the world. But we need more. We want him to do even more.”

Saturday’s hat-trick put Mbappé six goals clear at the top of the Ligue 1 scoring charts. However in recent years questions marks about the Frenchman’s work rate have been raised. After the win Luis Enrique suggested that Mbappé has the potential to be even better.

“I think he can improve and he has a lot of room for improvement and that he can reach a higher level. That’s our aim, not to settle and to get Kylian to participating even more in every part of the Game,” he said.

What did Kylian Mbappé say after PSG hat-trick?

Mbappé's contract with PSG is due to expire at the end of the 2023/24 season, meaning that he is free to sign pre-contract terms with other European clubs from January. Over the summer he was heavily linked to a move away from the French capital, with Real Madrid deemed the most likely destination.

He has not spoken on the subject since the summer, when the speculation led to him being omitted from a pre-season tour of Asia. But after the win over Reims he was asked about the situation by reporters.

“The most important thing, what I wanted [last summer] was to play Football,” Mbappé said. “I leave the rest to you [reporters], who do it well. I don’t want to talk about anything else. I think that’s enough.”

Mbappé added that he was happy with his performance in the win over Reims, but that scoring goals was not his only priority.

He said: “The most important thing is to enjoy the Game. To be honest, I don’t need to play well to score. But what I want is to play well and score.”