It’s about to be a big and important summer for Real Madrid, PSG, and Kylian Mbappe. The Frenchman is set to leave the club after eight seasons since he signed for the French club from Monaco as the second most expensive football player in the history of the sport, only behind Neymar, whom PSG paid more than a premium to get to the French capital.
PSG always knew Mbappe could leave, but their big plan was to always throw money at him, like they did in 2022, which made their star man stay for two more years. However, this time, it appears to be more real than ever that Kylian Mbappe is leaving, and the earlier they admit that, the sooner they can start preparing for life after him, which they already appear to be doing, at least judging by their on-pitch activities.
Luis Enrique confirms Kylian Mbappe’s future is not at PSG
It’s never easy for any club to replace their star man. Manchester United never quite got the perfect replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo after selling him for a then-world-record fee to Real Madrid. PSG’s blind belief that Mbappe could be tempted by money and stay at the club has backfired, leaving them in a very difficult position going into an important summer just a few months after parting ways with both Lionel Messi and Neymar.
This past week, Luis Enrique has been giving himself a reality check on his team’s status next season. It’s every manager’s honor to coach a player as great as Kylian Mbappe, but you must laud Enrique’s attitude towards the player and the whole situation. He’s been taking Mbappe off earlier than expected in the past, and his reason has been very consistent ever since; PSG must prepare for his departure.
“You already know my opinion on him: He’s the best player in the world. He’ll score 50 goals and provide 25 assists in any team with any coach and unfortunately he won’t be here in the near future so we will have to test other teammates of his,” confirms Enrique as per Mirror.
As a smart man who knows how much quality Mbappe possesses, the Spaniard still uses him to achieve his goals for the club this season. The Frenchman made the difference yesterday as PSG beat Real Sociedad 2-1 (4-1 on aggregate) to make it to the quarterfinals of this season’s UCL, although he got asked yet another question about Mbappe’s future at the club.
“Apparently, the immediate future of Kylian Mbappe will not be here,” the former Barcelona boss said. “We will have to test tactics with other players,” he added. He also said the same thing in the club’s last two league games after removing Mbappe from the game when he still needed his team to score goals.
PSG president will back Luis Enrique’s Kylian Mbappe-free strategy
It may be unthinkable how much hurt the French giants are feeling now, especially knowing Mbappe will be joining Real Madrid for free in the summer, and they believe he may have already inked a five-year deal that could keep him in the Spanish capital until the summer of 2029.
However, PSG can also look at things from the bright side and use the opportunity to rebuild a team that hasn’t quite done anything spectacular despite all the money they’ve been throwing around. Luckily for Luis Enrique, he has the backing of the state-backed club and the confidence that PSG will even build a better team that can thrive without Kylian Mbappe.
“The coach is the one who decides; we are behind him. Every technical and tactical choice is up to him,” the club’s president said while throwing his weight behind Luis Enrique.
The truth is, if PSG can spend their money wisely, they can build a great team. Manchester City, under Pep Guardiola, has proven that, even with unlimited cash reserves, you have to plan properly to be able to reach a certain level of success, a model those at PSG now have to adopt. Whatever their plan for the future is, it won’t involve Kylian Mbappe.
