"The time has come for Mbappe to go" - Ex-PSG director slams Kylian Mbappe for poor behaviour, believes club can win UCL without him
Former Paris Saint Germain (PSG) sporting director Leonardo believes that the time is right for the club to part ways with Kylian Mbappe. He also stated that the Parisians can win the UEFA Champions League without the French superstar's services.
Mbappe's future has been a widely discussed topic after he informed PSG that he won't exercise a player option to extend his current contract beyond 2024. Real Madrid are said to be the favourites to sign Mbappe after missing out on him last year.
While his contract expires next year, it has been reported that he has been made available for sale this summer.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has recently revealed that Kylian Mbappe will not be allowed to leave the club as a free agent next year. He has given the Frenchman the option of either extending his contract or getting sold before the 2023-24 season commences.
"We want him to stay but he can't leave for free. It was our oral agreement and he had expressed it publicly in an interview. So it's not debatable. And I was really shocked to learn that he intended to leave for free," Al-Khelaifi said. (via GOAL).
"It's very disappointing because Kylian is a fantastic boy, a real gentleman, and leaving for free, weakening the biggest French club, it's not him.
"That's why he has to decide next week, or at most in two weeks. And if he doesn't want to sign a new contract, the door is open. It's like that for him and for everyone else. No one is bigger than the club, no player, not even me. It's very clear."
The Parisians' former sporting director Leonardo is of the opinion that PSG should sever ties with Kylian Mbappe this summer. He further stated that the Ligue 1 champions are capable of winning the coveted UEFA Champions League title without his help.
"For the good of PSG, I think the time has come for Mbappe to go, no matter what. Paris-Saint-Germain existed before Kylian Mbappe and it will exist after him," he said in an interview with L'Equipe.
"He's been in Paris for six years and, over those six seasons, five different clubs have won the Champions League (Real Madrid in 2018 and 2022, Liverpool in 2019, Bayern Munich in 2020, Chelsea in 2021 and Manchester City in 2023), none of which had Mbappe in their ranks. That means it's entirely possible to win this competition without him."
"I think playing at PSG doesn't help much because it's a divisive team, a divisive club" - Kylian Mbappe
Amidst growing pressure to either extend his Paris Saint-Germain contract or leave the club this summer, Kylian Mbappe has given his perspective on the criticism. He also stated that his performances are often downplayed owing to his association with the Parisians.
"Do people trivialise my performance? Yes, but at the same time, I don't blame them. In France, they saw me grow up, they see me all the time, at PSG every weekend or in the national team. And I've been scoring a lot for years. So, for people, it becomes normal," Kylian Mbappe said (via GOAL).
"I never complained that my performances were trivialised. I am young and I had the chance to be an observer, not so long ago, before being an actor. And myself, I trivialised what [Lionel] Messi was doing, what Cristiano Ronaldo was doing, what the great players were doing."
Mbappe further stated that playing for a divisive club like PSG doesn't help his cause.
"I think playing at PSG doesn't help much because it's a divisive team, a divisive club. So, of course, it attracts gossip, but it doesn't bother me because I know what I'm doing and how I do it," he opined.
Despite being constantly bombarded with criticism, Mbappe scored 41 goals and provided 10 assists in 43 games for PSG.
Since joining the club from AS Monaco in 2017, he has won five Ligue 1 titles, among other honors. He has also become the club's all-time top scorer with 212 goals in 260 games, along with 98 assists.