Neymar aims dig at Kylian Mbappe as superstar looks set to follow Brazilian and Lionel Messi out of PSG with Real Madrid move

Influential Brazilian social media account Jogada Ensaiada, which has 189,000 followers on Instagram, posted a damning assessment about the nature of Mbappe's influence at PSG and the state of the squad now that he is readying to leave - potentially for Real Madrid - on a free transfer. Neymar 'liked' the post, which had the overall caption "No player should be bigger than the institution", suggesting he endorsed its content.

The Jogada Ensaiada account said: "PSG, an example of football management. They knew how to bring together the best players and had the best team on the planet. When the team started to do well, the ego of a 'certain Frenchman' began to disturbed the atmosphere. Mbappe started to feel excluded, most of the team members spoke Spanish and he threatened to leave. To not lose his precious, PSG started selling those who did not were not aligned with Mbappe's thoughts and brought in the French players he wanted. After doing everything to make everything go his way, Mbappe communicated to PSG that he would leave the club for free at the end of the season. And in the end, this is what remains at PSG."

Having become the second most expensive player in history when signing for PSG permanently in 2018, behind only Neymar in the all-time list, Mbappe is running down his PSG contract. There are already reports in Spain that an agreement with Real Madrid is in place for a five-year deal that would pay €15m (£13m/$16m) to €20m (£17m/$22m), with bonuses on top. That would make him Real's highest-paid player, albeit on less money than he has been earning in Paris since his most recent new contract in 2022.

As he prepares to leave PSG and France altogether, Mbappe has a few things he could achieve to properly cap off this chapter of his career. Both he and PSG are yet to win the Champions League but have one foot in the quarter-finals following last week's 2-0 first leg win over Real Sociedad in the last 16. Mbappe is also thought to want to represent France as a designated over-age player at this summer's Olympics on home soil. An Olympic gold medal is something that both Neymar (2016) and Lionel Messi (2008) have in their respective collections.