PSG star Mbappe told he is 'not above the club' as Galtier insists he's on 'same level' as Messi and Neymar

• Mbappe 'embodies' PSG project
• Galtier also issues equality warning
• Mbappe stayed because he loves PSG

WHAT HAPPENED? The World Cup winner looked set to join Real Madrid in the summer but instead made a last-minute U-turn and signed a three-year extension with PSG. It was speculated that Mbappe was given executive powers behind the scenes as part of the agreement but Galtier has now set the record straight. He says the 23-year-old does not enjoy any preferential treatment and is on the same pedestal as the other players in the squad, including Messi and Neymar.

WHAT THEY SAID: "He embodies the project, there can be no doubt. But when I say that he embodies the project, it is not that he is above the club,'' Galtier told RMC Sport. ''Kylian is at the same level as all the other players. On the same level as Leo Messi who has an incredible career, who is the greatest player in the history of football. Kylian is on the same level as Neymar.''

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Reports emerged in October that Mbappe is not happy in Paris and wants to move in the winter transfer window, which he later insisted was not the case. Now Galtier has claimed that the forward loves PSG and will continue at the club after snubbing Madrid last summer. "Obviously he is in love with PSG, but he had a very attentive eye on Real Madrid,'' he added. ''He made the decision to stay. He made a strong decision and he must be respected for that. He is respectable.''

IN TWO PHOTOs:

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WHAT NEXT FOR MBAPPE? The striker has joined the French national squad for the World Cup and will be hoping to defend the title in Qatar.