Lionel Messi was handed a guard of honour upon returning to Paris Saint-Germain - but team-mate Kylian Mbappe missed the occasion after losing to the Argentine in the World Cup final.
Messi scored twice in the World Cup final, eventually helping lead his country to glory on penalties after a 3-3 draw. He missed out on the tournament Golden Boot, though, with Mbappe's hat-trick at Lusail Stadium seeing him finish the competition with eight goals.
Mbappe and club colleague Achraf Hakimi were both granted leave by PSG manager Christophe Galtier after the Ligue 1 leaders lost their unbeaten record with a defeat against Lens. That meant the 2018 World Cup winner wasn't present for Messi's hero's reception, though his younger brother Ethan was in attendance after recently joining PSG's first-team squad.
“Hakimi and Mbappe will have a few days off," Galtier confirmed after the Lens game, which ended 3-1 to the team currently second in the table. "The plan was that they could play these two games. They will now recover."
PSG will return to league action on January 11 with a game against Angers, before facing Rennes four days later. They still sit four points clear, but Lens closed the gap with the victory at Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
The two teams exchanged goals early on, with Przemyslaw Frankowski opening the scoring for Lens and Hugo Ekitike leveilling things up inside the opening 10 minutes. The home side eventually pulled away, though, with Lois Openda putting them back in front and Alexis Claude-Maurice sealing victory in the second half.
Messi was greeted by a number of his team-mates upon making his return to Paris, with Neymar among those to welcome him back. The 35-year-old will soon return to domestic action after a fortnight off, with Champions League football to follow in February.
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Mbappe, PSG's only representative in the French World Cup squad, was mocked by Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez in the victors' celebrations. However, Galtier insisted any bad blood would not impact the forward's relationship with Messi.
"I would focus on the relationship between them," the manager said. "It wasn't Leo Messi winding anybody else up.
"What I saw after the final, what I have experienced, is there is no reason to mix these things up because the goalkeeper's behaviour is down to him.
"What matters to me is the relationship between the players. Kylian Mbappe had a very good attitude, despite losing. Of course, he was very disappointed, but he did that in a classy way. He congratulated Leo Messi and that is a very good thing for the club and for the team."
