Is PSG boss' warning to superstars troubling?

Christophe GALTIER (Entraineur PSG) during the Ligue 1 Uber Eats match between Nantes and Paris at Stade de la Beaujoire on September 3, 2022 in Nantes, France. Icon Sport

Is PSG boss' warning to superstars a sign there is trouble?

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated Sep 5, 2022 3:54 PM ET

Benching a star player may seem like a risky move to some coaches. But for Paris Saint-Germain manager Christophe Galtier, a move like that could be what's best for the team.

The coach echoed that sentiment to the press when he said he informed team superstars Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Neymar that they will have to accept the occasional benching whether they like it or not -- which begs the question as to whether there is trouble brewing in Paris.

All is not well with PSG as Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe were warned they may need to accept a bench role by coach Christophe Galtier
— Dynes Sports (@dynessports) September 5, 2022

"I talked about it twice -- once with each of them and once with the whole squad, to tell them that this is how it was going to be and that we had to have the right attitude and accept it," Galtier said on the matter, via ESPN. "We play a lot, every three days, then every four days, then there is the World Cup. Everyone has to understand that they won't be able to play all the games."

To Galtier's credit, preserving players with a busy schedule coming up is the right call -- even when it comes to players of Messi's caliber. However, his need to publicly say he had to speak to the trio more than once leaves some wondering if there is some infighting going on.

But perhaps it isn't a huge surprise Galtier had to give his big guns a talking to given the big personalities in the locker room. Mbappe and Neymar, who co-lead Ligue 1 with seven goals a piece, have done their fair share of bickering even though they are reportedly friends.

As for PSG's busy schedule, they open up Champions League play on top of their Ligue 1 schedule, starting with a match on Tuesday against Italian Serie A club Juventus.

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