Kylian Mbappe insisted his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Neymar is "human like everyone else" after the Brazilian was reduced to tears on Friday by the controversy that has followed him since his arrival from Barcelona.
A tearful Neymar pleaded with the media to stop the "false stories" about his alleged frosty relations with PSG coach Unai Emery and fellow striker Edinson Cavani following Brazil's 3-1 international friendly win over Japan in Lille.
Neymar, 25, said he was "hurt" by the issue, before adding that he was "really happy" in Paris following his world-record €222 million (around Dh950m) transfer in August.
Mbappe, Neymar and Cavani have linked up to devastating effect this season, with the trio combining to score 24 goals through PSG's first 12 league matches.
But Mbappe conceded Neymar was just as susceptible to criticism as anyone else.
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"It just simply proves that he's human like everyone else. He's like us, he has two arms, two legs, a heart, so he can be affected by the criticism he is subjected to," Mbappe told French television channel TF1 on Sunday.
"From the outside he gives off a certain image, he doesn't appear to be affected. But when you're on the inside, he opens himself up to you, he shows he's a normal person.
"He's incredibly strong on the pitch that you think he's just as strong off it, but away from it he remains a normal guy."
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A foster couple or family must:
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- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
