Leonardo slams Kylian Mbappe amid PSG feud, saying he’s not that good anyway
Well, this is one of the dumbest sports quotes of the year.
The ongoing feud between Kylian Mbappé and Paris Saint-Germain is reaching a head with all signs pointing to Mbappé making a move to Real Madrid after he announced he wouldn’t be renewing his contract. Normally losing one of the best players in the world would cause a team to reset and lick their wounds, but instead those in PSG’s orbit are lashing out and essentially saying “Mbappé isn’t that good anyway.”
Former PSG sporting director Leonardo didn’t hold back with his criticism of Mbappé, telling French newspaper L’Equipe that having Mbappé didn’t help PSG win.
“He’s been in Paris for six years, and over those six seasons, five different clubs have won the Champions League, none of which had Mbappé in their ranks. That means it’s entirely possible to win this competition without him.”
It should be noted that Leonardo was fired by PSG in 2022 after an unsuccessful international run. The former sporting director is credited with convincing Neymar to stay when he planned to leave in 2019, but made huge mistakes mismanaging the team’s resources outside of its top players. Essentially Leonardo is blaming Kylian Mbappé for PSG’s inability to win the Champions League, despite it being a team Leonardo put together that was unable to win.
The disgruntled star said he didn’t plan to re-sign with PSG after his contract expires in 2024, saying that playing for the club is “divisive.” It’s unclear what he meant, however it shows growing signs of frustration that despite having both Mbappé AND Neymar, the club is still unable to put a winning international roster around them.
Mbappé future will be the biggest story in soccer this summer after Lionel Messi shocked the world by joining Inter Miami. The 24-year-old Mbappé is widely regarded as the best young player in the world and is right in the middle of his prime, with Real Madrid reportedly prepared to make a 200 million euro offer for the star. However, PSG are reportedly seeking at least 250 million, which complicated the books for Madrid, who already have €298M committed to their payroll next season.