“A very strong sign” for Nasser al-Khelaïfi. The president of Paris Saint-Germain and the new “cornerstone” of his project, Kylian Mbappé, commented on Monday with joy the announcement of the extension of the second named for three seasons. An extension in the form of an epilogue to a long soap opera which began with the aborted transfer of the Frenchman to Real Madrid last year. “We are keeping the best player in the world”, hammered the Qatari leader, seeing in this news a “positive element for the club, Ligue 1 and France”.
SEE ALSO – Mbappé at PSG: “We keep the best player in the world”, savors Nasser Al Khelaifi
A broad vision, broader than football, shared by “KM”, 23 years old but with a well-made head and a sense of responsibility, beyond football. “Everyone knows I wanted to leave last year. Now, the years follow each other and are not alike. The context is different today, a sporting context, but also a private one. There is also the fact that I was free and that as a Frenchman, knowing my importance in the country, a country in which I want to live, to grow old, I will come back here after my career”, swears the world champion , who confirmed having “exchanged a lot of times” with President Macron, who wanted to see him “stay”.
Mbappé in Paris, the victory of money? This is what we can read, see and hear in Spain, where his refusal to join Real has provoked anger and a wave of resentment. “It was a sporting choice, not money”, nevertheless promises “NAK”. “We talked about months of sport, hours of image and minutes of money. It lasted five minutes”, confirms Mbappé, noting that “the club wants to change a lot of things on the sporting level. My story does not end here. I think I still have great chapters to write.” Among the things that will change, there is in particular the position of sports director, even if Nasser al-Khelaïfi did not want to confirm the appointment of Luis Campos in place of Leonardo as sports director. The coach, Mauricio Pochettino, will not make it through the summer either. A summer that promises to be hot in Paris…
meanwhile, it is Real who will try to win the Champions League next Saturday, against Liverpool. “As a Frenchman, I still want to continue trying to lead France to the heights and try to pull this championship and this club,” hammered the French international, whose teammates did not have moreover learned of his choice only on Saturday.
It remains to be seen whether Mbappé’s future will pass through Madrid, one day, finally, after several missed appointments. “I am only focused on this new contract, on fully investing myself in this new project, this new era. What will happen in the future, I don’t know”, he slips, he who shone by his well-known ease in front of the media, smiling and relaxed, not hesitating to joke. All under the gaze of his relatives, his parents Wilfried Mbappé and Fayza Lamari, his brother Ethan or his lawyer Delphine Verheyden, and in front of a packed Parc des Princes auditorium.
Among the arguments that seduced Kylian Mbappé, there is the place that PSG intends to give him. Yesterday, the figurehead was called Neymar. Today, it’s Mbappé. To the point of choosing the coach or dictating his choices in terms of recruitment? “I remain a football player and I will never go beyond my function as a football player”, tempers the person concerned. Mbappé is not seeking the captain’s armband: “There is already a captain (Marquinhos), I don’t want to come and cut his head off like that. I don’t need to be a captain to give my point of view and lead by example on the pitch.” Show the example, but also the way to “his” team. This is the burden that comes with his new status. “The pressure, I’ve had it since I was 14,” laughs Kylian Mbappé, ready for this new page, this “new era”.
