Nasser Al-Khelaïfi has already found PSG's new leader to replace Mbappé

While in France they explain Kylian Mbappé’s problems to close his departure from PSG, the president of the Parisian club Nasser Al-Khelaïfi does not skimp on public praise for the French striker and at the same time assures that he already has the new leader of his project: Luis Enrique Martínez.

The words of the Qatari leader contrast with the information that the newspaper L’Équipe published last Wednesday in which it claimed that it was he who was supervising the negotiations to close Mbappé’s termination and that for the moment they were seriously stalled. Now, the French newspaper picked up some words from Al Khelaïfi.

The PSG manager referred to Kylian during a colloquium parallel to his participation in the Globe Soccer Awards and conducted by CNN journalist Amanda Davies. After reviewing his team’s campaign and Luis Enrique’s role at the head of the squad, the key question came: “Do you have any message for Kylian Mbappé?”, the journalist asked him, and this was Al-Khelaïfi’s response: “I wish him the best. He did exceptional things for us for seven years. He was 18 when he arrived, now he is a man, who is the best player in the world. I am proud of what he has done for the club. And you never know, maybe one day he will return to France… I know his ambitions, he wanted to change, go to another league to have new experiences and he has the right to do so”.

New leaders

Quite a contrast to the problems that have been aired in recent days between the PSG manager and the footballer, who would have practically no relationship. The negotiations for the termination would be in the hands of the lawyers of both parties, who would be exchanging emails to try to bring positions closer together. Meanwhile, Real Madrid continues to wait to be able to move forward with a signing that they have been dreaming of for years. And the footballer will have to focus on preparing for the Euro 2024 in Germany with France. Another thing will be the Olympic Games, as Real Madrid has already announced that it does not intend to release its players to participate in this competition.

Finally, and returning to PSG, Al Khelaïfi admitted that they are already preparing the post-Mbappé era, always with the Champions League as an outstanding subject: “We know that the Champions League is always difficult and that everything comes down to details. We have tried and we will continue to try. This is always our ambition. At the beginning of the season, honestly, I never set myself the goal of winning the Champions League. We started with a new team, a new cycle, a new vision. Of course I would have liked to be in the final and win, but being in the semifinals is already incredible for us. The difficulties encountered make this quest even more beautiful”.

Living without Kylian… and with Luis Enrique

In line with Kylian’s departure, he highlighted the club’s new line: “It’s not a matter of players but of the team. A journalist asked me who will be PSG’s star next season and I answered: “the team, the collective”. This is our strategy now”.

In this sense, Al Khelaïfi ratified his confidence in the current coach. “The boss is the coach Luis Enrique. I trust him and he does an extraordinary job. And if we had been eliminated against Newcastle (in the group stage of the Champions League), I would have said exactly the same thing,” he even assured. “Because I know and I knew that we are on the right track. And the same next season,” he added.