French President Emmanuel Macron can be seen as an expert in that field. He was one of many Mbappé sought advice from before the attacking star signed the new, lucrative three-year contract this weekend.
– Let’s just say it was good advice. He wanted me to stay, that’s part of the negotiations. He is one of the different people I talked to, Mbappé told the newspaper Le Parisien, according to the AP.
Club chairman Nasser al-Khelaifi and other Qatari investors have been pumping billions upon billions into the club since taking over in 2011. Money never seems to have been the problem in PSG’s quest to become Europe’s leading football club.
Seen as a foundation bolt
It is rather a knowledge-oriented problem why PSG, despite all its stars, have not managed to win the Champions League, the very crown of the work, the symbol of success.
In the “project” that is now being planned, Kylian Mbappé is seen as a cornerstone – and then not just as one of the leading players on the field. According to Nasser al-Khelaifi, Mbappé was attracted by the influence the club management is prepared to give him in the future.
“The most important thing for Kylian was the sporting project,” al-Khelaifi said.
In connection with Mbappé signing until 2025, the sports director Leonardo was fired. According to the newspaper L’Equipe, it was a demand from Mbappé to stay.
The French national team star wanted to see an overall change in the sports management after another failure in the Champions League, where PSG disappeared already in the round of 16 against Real Madrid in March.
Pochettino is loose
The question is how much to say about whether the 23-year-old striker will get in the future, now that he has signed.
Nasser al-Khelaifi is said to have given Mbappé – who has scored 171 goals in 217 matches since 2017 – guarantees of a new course and that will probably mean several signings this summer and probably that coach Mauricio Pochettino will have to look around for a new job.
It is widely speculated that player legend Zinedine Zidane, former Real Madrid coach, will soon take over at the Parc des Princes.
– The project takes a new direction. The club wants to change many things on the sporting side, so it gives me the will to continue. My time here is not over, said Kylian Mbappé at today’s press conference.
There he pointed out that he does not strive for power.
– I am a football player, well rooted in a collective. Although, of course, players have different status in a team, I will remain a football player and I will not go further than that.
Kylian Mbappé’s choice was between staying in Paris or continuing his career at Real Madrid. He has said many times that his dream as a boy was to once play for Real Madrid.
– I’m really focused on this new contract. I do not know what will happen in the future, he said.