French star Kylian Mbappe made a surprise return to Paris Saint-Germain training on Wednesday, 3 days after his country lost the Qatar 2022 World Cup final to Argentina.
The Parisian club posted a video on its Twitter account showing the striker getting off a minibus and entering the Saint-Germain training center with the phrase “Welcome, Kylian”. He also attached another tweet with the caption: “Kylian Mbappe returned to training on Wednesday.”
welcome @KMbappe! 👋☺️
pic.twitter.com/RfNeXgk7Q8– Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_arab) December 21, 2022
Mbappe’s return to training has been a notable step in his timeline, as players who have participated in the World Cup will have at least 10 days rest before joining their squads.
Mbappé, top scorer in the World Cup (8 goals) and hat-trick in the final, should have returned in January 2023.
🔙 @KMbappe Head back to the training center this Wednesday to prepare for the second half of the season! 💪❤️💙
pic.twitter.com/2imHoKBR3Q– Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_arab) December 21, 2022
His coach at Saint-Germain, Christophe Galtier, expressed his admiration for Mbappé’s move and told reporters: “I am very happy to see him.”
It became clear that Mbappé, seemingly shocked by the ‘Roosters’ defeat by Argentina on penalties 2-4 after drawing 3-3 in regular and extra time in a fiery final, wanted to speed up his return to stadiums, the day after his 24th birthday.
backwards @AchrafHakimi To the Parisian castle! ❤️💙🔙
pic.twitter.com/921XYLdmDA– Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_arab) December 21, 2022
In turn, Moroccan defender Ashraf Hakimi followed the lead of his friend, the French striker, and joined the exercises on Wednesday, according to photos posted by Capital Club on social media.
Saint-Germain wrote that Hakimi, who led Morocco to the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar before losing to France 0-2, and subsequently the third-place match against Croatia 1-2, “has returned to exercises” and attached photos of the arrival of the Moroccan defender, and then accompanied by Mbappé and defender Prisnel Kimpembe.
Mbappe’s training schedule has not been determined by Saint-Germain, who will face Strasbourg on December 28 at the “Parc de France” stadium in the second half of the French championship, and then against Lens on January 1.
