Leonardo, former sporting director and player at Paris Saint-Germain, spoke to Le Figaro. In particular, he discussed the case of Kylian Mbappé, 25, whom he would have sold in 2020/2021, arguing that a player cannot be above a club. He then recounted his two visits to Paris with great emotion.
Leonardo “I even think he should have been sold at the end of the 2020-2021 season”
“I was against it, at the level that was done. At all times. Right from the start. I even think he should have been sold at the end of the 2020-2021 season, when PSG had an offer from Real Madrid and he only had one year left on his contract. […] How do you manage after that? If you lose a player, it’s annoying, but the club isn’t going to die.
What great institution has collapsed by losing a player? None. It can take a long time, but you always get back on your feet. I was a player, but an element can never be more important than a club.”
Leonardo “We recruited 9-10 players in 20 days”.
His arrival in Paris
I remember every moment. You know, when Paris came looking for me, I was a coach at Inter Milan, I had to build the future and they called me to tell me that the Paris club would be bought out, that the revolution would be huge, with the desire to shine in the C1.
I arrived in Paris on July 14, the same as when I was a player. The Championship started on August 6 and we recruited 9-10 players in 20 days.”
Leonardo “It’s my heart talking”.
It was wonderful. We came out of the Champions League against Messi’s great Barcelona without losing this season. The second leg was also fabulous for me.
We made a Champions League final, the only one so far. But beyond all that, my history with Paris is untouchable. And I’m not saying that to open the door to anything. That’s my heart speaking.”
Whatever one thinks of Leonardo and his time at PSG, he has certainly left no one indifferent. With PSG, Leonardo was one of the pillars in the construction of the new Qatari project. We remember his first mercatos and the teams he managed to build. Under his influence, PSG reached the Champions League final in 2020, and he knows a thing or two about soccer.
When he talks about Mbappé, we understand that the wound is still open. He left, Mbappé stayed, so we can understand his bitterness. He loves the club, and so does Mbappé, but the two have not followed the same trajectory. The Kid from Bondy has taken up space at the club, and that’s never good.
We mustn’t forget that a player is often just passing through a club, and it’s risky to give him the keys. Today, we have information that the end was not idyllic between PSG and Mbappé, and Leonardo’s words resonate all the more strongly.
We hope we’ll see him again at a soccer club. He’s got a lot to live up to, and we know that soccer is often an intense experience, and that everyone can be adored and then hated. That’s modern soccer, less passion without nuance. Everything moves very fast.
