![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/image_2022-12-21_161513063-696x437.png\" "\\"Emiliano")
Lionel Messi watched on as Emiliano Martinez held a doll with Kylian Mbappe\u2019s face on it during\u00a0Argentina\u2019s World Cup victory homecoming parade.<\/p>\n
Argentina goalkeeper, Martinez was pictured cradling the toy baby \u2013 complete with nappy, with Mbappe\u2019s face stuck onto the head \u2013 on an open-top bus parade in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The goalkeeper had raised eyebrows when\u00a0he performed a lewd gesture\u00a0in the seconds after collecting the Golden Glove trophy at the World Cup final presentation on Sunday. He later claimed it was a response to French jeering.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
His latest act is likely to increase tensions between Argentina and France and Messi\u2019s presence, as a team-mate of Mbappe\u2019s at Paris Saint-Germain, raises questions for when the pair return to club duty in the French capital next month.<\/p>\n Mbappe, who\u00a0scored a hat-trick in the final\u00a0and yet still ended up losing, was the subject of another swipe from the Argentine players in the immediate aftermath of the final in Doha. They marked their win by\u00a0holding a \u201cmoment\u2019s silence\u201d for the forward\u00a0in the dressing room after the game.<\/p>\n Further celebrations saw a staff member dive head-first into a bin and Argentine players singing about \u201cf\u2014ing journalists\u201d in the media area at the Lusail Stadium.<\/p>\n Martinez has become a focal point for some of the more questionable behaviour in the past 48 hours. He was hailed\u00a0as a hero for his role in the shoot-out, which came after the game ended 3-3 in normal time.<\/p>\n The Aston Villa goalkeeper saved one penalty from Kingsley Coman and had an influential impact in a second being missed. He was pictured throwing the ball away when Aurelien Tchouameni had been expecting it to be returned to him. The France midfielder subsequently put his penalty wide.<\/p>\n Martinez then shocked millions of TV viewers when he held the goalkeeper trophy, a giant gold-plated hand, to his groin and waved it around on the podium. He later said he \u201cdid it because the French booed me. Pride doesn\u2019t work with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Argentina\u2019s victory parade in their capital city would go on\u00a0to be abandoned\u00a0due to safety fears, with players being evacuated in helicopters.<\/p>\n By Jason Burt, Chief Football Correspondent<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The futures of Messi and Mbapp\u00e9\u00a0are yet to be decided. Neither will go anywhere before the summer, but both have made it clear that they want to see how PSG\u2019s latest attempt to win the Champions League plays out before deciding whether they will stay.<\/p>\n Pity Christophe Galtier, the PSG head coach who must now manage the reintegration of the two superstars \u2013 and their third, Neymar, whose World Cup ended in bitter disappointment in the quarter-final against Croatia \u2013 when the club\u2019s next Ligue 1 fixture comes around on December 28, at home to Strasbourg.<\/p>\n Messi\u2019s World Cup triumph will certainly hurt Mbappe, who is rightly regarded as the best player in the world at present and whose ambition burns brightly. But there has never previously been lasting animosity between the two players. They are not friends in the way that Mbapp\u00e9 is close to Achraf Hakimi, not least because there is a 12-year age gap, but there is respect and mutual admiration. Neymar, who is 30, is far closer to Messi than Mbapp\u00e9 is \u2013 as was evidenced in his\u00a0exclusive interview with Telegraph Sport\u00a0\u00a0\u2013 and given their history at Barcelona that is no surprise.<\/p>\n Mbapp\u00e9 and Messi are not buddies, but neither is there any hostility. There is a far cooler relationship between Mbapp\u00e9 and Neymar, who were close, with the temperature having dropped further after Mbapp\u00e9 signed his new contract last May.<\/p>\n That caused consternation in Spain, where Real Madrid had convinced themselves he was joining them on a free transfer. PSG maintain they were always sure he would stay.<\/p>\n There have been outlandish claims of the level of control Mbapp\u00e9 now has at PSG, but it is fair to state that he is the most influential player at the club \u2013 just as he is with France. At the same time PSG are well aware that this, finally, might be his last season with them and having secured him on a new deal, up until 2025, they are prepared to sell if he wants to go and they receive an appropriate offer.<\/p>\n What would that be? One senior PSG source told Telegraph Sport: \u201cIf people realise how valuable Kylian is today then they will realise how important he is for the club.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Kylian it is huge. The value of Kylian? \u20ac300-350million. They [Madrid] offered more than us and he chose. That\u2019s the biggest statement. He chose here and it was not about money.\u201d<\/p>\n But it might be next year. PSG are relaxed about that, especially after the crisis in October when Mbapp\u00e9 made it clear he wanted to leave in the January window because, at that time, he felt his relationship with the club had broken down.<\/p>\n Sources close to Mbapp\u00e9 claimed promises made to him had not been kept, primarily the intention to sign a No 9 so that he would not have to play as a central striker, which became evident with his infamous \u201cpivot gang\u201d post on Instagram.<\/p>\n That led to tension with Neymar and sources claimed Mbapp\u00e9 regretted signing his new contract. It has calmed down since then, with PSG believing it was a cry for help.<\/p>\n The situation with Messi is also clear for PSG. They, and sources close to the Argentine, emphatically reject reports that he will agree a deal to join Inter Miami at the end of this season.<\/p>\n When the claims were made last month PSG even double-checked with Messi\u2019s camp and were assured that he was solely focused on the World Cup and that, as he had told them in talks before the tournament, he would be willing to stay another season in Paris if the conditions are right. There is already an option for him to do so.<\/p>\n It may also depend on how PSG fare in the Champions League, although Messi has told the club that he enjoys working under Galtier and they are reasonably confident he will remain. At the very least they are emphatic he has not decided his future.<\/p>\n Inter Miami, who are part-owned by David Beckham, have made no secret of wanting to sign Messi. Beckham also has close links with the Qataris, having played for PSG, and worked as an \u00a3150 million ambassador, controversially, during the World Cup. The Qataris would be surprised if a deal has been done behind their backs with Messi.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Emiliano-Martinez-reignites-Kylian-Mbappe-feud-with-baby-doll-taunt-next-to-Lionel-Messi-.jpg\")
Analysis: Messi and Mbappe may not be team-mates for much longer<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Mbappe-and-Messi-playing-for-PSG.jpg\")