PSG held by Benfica amid reports Mbappe wants to leave

Kylian Mbappe scored from the penalty spot but Paris Saint-Germain were held to a 1-1 draw by Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday in a game overshadowed by reports claiming the France star is so unhappy at the club he wants to leave in January.

PSG would have qualified for the last 16 from Group H with two games to spare by beating the Portuguese giants at the Parc des Princes.

They took the lead when Mbappe slotted in a penalty five minutes before half-time, only for Joao Mario to level from the spot for Benfica just after the hour mark.

The sides are level on eight points at the top of the group, five ahead of Juventus and Israel’s Maccabi Haifa, who claimed a stunning 2-0 win over the Italians earlier on Tuesday.

PSG, who are top of Ligue 1, should still advance comfortably to the knockout phase but all is far from rosy in the French capital.

The club was unsettled ahead of this match by reports that Mbappe wants away already, a little over four months after turning down a move to Real Madrid to sign a new three-year contract in Paris.

“I found it bizarre that such a story should come out just a few hours before such an important match for the club,” coach Christophe Galtier told broadcaster Canal Plus.

“He gave a very good response by scoring a goal. He was creative, dangerous and he could have scored a second.”

Club denial The story in question was published by Madrid-based sports daily Marca and later by several French media, but PSG firmly denied any suggestion that their superstar striker could depart during the next transfer window.

“I am with Kylian Mbappe every day and he has never spoken to me about leaving in January,” PSG’s football advisor Luis Campos told Canal Plus ahead of the game.

Mbappe’s apparent