"Maybe he is talking about these Nations League matches" - Brazil manager Tite disagrees with PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe's claims on European qualifiers
Brazil manager Tite has responded to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Kylian Mbappe's claims about the World Cup qualifiers.
The PSG attacker made a controversial claim a few months back regarding the difference in difficulty levels of the qualifiers between Europe and South America.
As per ESPN, the World Cup-winning forward claimed that the South American teams have an easier route to the World Cup. The former AS Monaco striker also claimed that European football is a lot more advanced when compared to that in South America.
Brazil manager Tite has now opened up on the controversy and has shared his disagreement with the PSG star.
Tite has claimed that South American teams have to cope under different conditions to qualify for the World Cup. He said that was a huge challenge Mbappe was not aware of.
Mbappรฉ sees Neymar gaining more & more strength at PSG. The PSG dressing room views Neymar as the teamโs technical leader. Players like Messi and Sergio Ramos support Neymar.
๐ @GoalBR https://t.co/fEEZMbkaj0
He also took a dig at the Frenchman, stating that teams in South America do not have easy opponents, citing Azerbaijan as an example. He told ESPN:
"For me, the cut that Mbappรฉ is referring to is not the knockout rounds. Maybe he is talking about these Nations League matches or European friendlies, but not the knockout rounds.
"I recently spoke with a Uruguayan columnist and he told me: 'Playing in Bolivia is very difficult. Playing in Cochabamba is very difficult. Playing in Uruguay is very difficult...'. "
He added:
"Surely, Mbappรฉ does not have this court, he does not know this difficulty, he didn't look for it. We don't have, with all due respect, Azerbaijan to play. We don't have one to give you a break. They are all games with a very high degree of difficulty in the qualifiers.
"The qualifiers here have a much higher degree of difficulty than this group stage (of the European qualifiers), I say yes."
PSG have started the new season really well under their new manager
PSG parted ways with Mauricio Pochettino over the summer, bringing in three-time Ligue 1 'Manager of the Year' winner Christophe Galtier as his replacement.
Galtier, a former Ligue 1 winner with Lille, started his era at the Paris club in the best possible fashion.
Sources have told ESPN that Mbappe got annoyed last season at the liberties Neymar took in terms of his discipline.
While Neymar was equally surprised to hear about the power Mbappe was given as part of his new contract. https://t.co/is1bdIHrvD
The Parisian club have won all three of their games, including the Trophee des Champions final, so far by big margins. PSG have scored 14 goals in the process while conceding just two. The duo of Lionel Messi and Neymar have been magical for them so far, while Kylian Mbappe has scored once in their last Ligue 1 outing against Montpellier.
PSG will once again have their sights on the Champions League. We will have to wait and see whether Galtier can bring the coveted trophy to the Parc des Princes this time out.