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Mauricio Pochettino insists Kylian Mbappe is not a difficult player to coach and believes the Paris Saint-Germain and France forward will learn to “manage himself” as he matures.
Pochettino spent 18 months working with Mbappe before leaving the Parc des Princes in July, leading the Parisian giants to the Ligue 1 title and the Coupe de France.
However, much of Pochettino’s time at PSG was marred by reports of rifts between high-profile players, while some claiming the club gave Mbappe excessive influence over their strategy when he rejected a move to Real Madrid to sign a new three-year contract in May.
Asked whether managing Mbappe had been challenging, Pochettino told the BBC: “He’s 23 and already won the World Cup, he’s an amazing talent.
“The problem is sometimes you need to manage yourself because we are talking about a top three, top five best player in the world.
“It’s not easy for him to manage himself because he’s not mature enough, he’s still a child.
“But I think he’s doing well. Sometimes people talk too much, but I don’t think it’s like this.”
The prolific Mbappe scored a sublime double in France’s 3-1 World Cup round of 16 win over Poland on Sunday and is leading the race for the Golden Boot with five goals.
Mbappe recorded 60 goal contributions in 46 appearances under Pochettino last season (39 goals, 21 assists) – more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues.