Paris Saint-Germain manager Christophe Galtier has played down rumours claiming Kylian Mbappe wants to leave the club in January.
As reported by several outlets in France and Spain on Tuesday, Mbappe is unhappy at PSG and wants to complete a transfer at the earliest possible opportunity. The France international, 23, only signed a new three-year deal with the club in May.
PSG's football advisor Luis Campos, who is believed to be leading their transfer business, insisted Mbappe had not submitted an exit request ahead of the team's Champions League fixture against Benfica at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday evening.
Galtier was also dismissive of the reports following the game, which finished in a 1-1 draw after goals from Mbappe and Joao Mario. "A lot was said about him this afternoon," Galtier told RMC Sport, as quoted by Get French Football News.
"I haven’t spoken about it with him, the objective is to remain concentrated on the match. He gave a lot tonight, he showed he was a great player, that he was concentrated on the match and the competition.
"We were all concentrated on the objective and on the match. A rumour becomes a piece of news, and a piece of news becomes a statement. I find that very surprising a few hours before a very important match."
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As quoted by GOAL, Campos told Canal+ before the game: "I am here to clearly deny, he [Mbappe] did not speak to me or to my president about leaving in January. This question never came up and we never talked about it.
"There are rumours every day, and we can't talk about them every day. But this one, it is serious. Because my name is there. An impact on the locker room? No, they are experienced players. It's not real news anyway, and it's not going to disrupt the group."
He added: "We speak with Kylian every day, as with Neymar, Danilo [Pereira], Vitinha and [Marcos] Verratti. All the players have their ideas and we discuss. On recruitment, we talked about it a month ago. It was very clear. And today, we work every day to be stronger."
Mbappe is widely regarded as one of the best forwards in Europe after a stunning start to his professional career. The former Monaco youngster has already won 59 senior caps for France - finding the net 28 times - and has scored more than 200 goals at club level.
Mbappe was part of the France squad that won the World Cup in Russia four years ago, scoring in the 4-2 win against Croatia in the final. His other honours include five Ligue 1 titles, three French Cups, the Nations League and the Golden Boy award.
Real Madrid tried to sign Mbappe before he agreed a new contract at PSG. He was close to becoming a free agent in the summer, signing his fresh deal just a month before his previous one expired. Liverpool have also been linked with the prolific forward.
