Back at Paris Saint-Germain after the Africa Cup of Nations, Ibrahim Mbaye (18 years old), PSG’s right winger, is facing a harsh reality: in Paris, the “winner” label guarantees nothing. In L’Équipe, Landry Chauvin describes the emotional rollercoaster and the risk of fading back into obscurity amidst the stars.
“It all happened so fast.”
“Can you imagine the emotional rollercoaster? Knowing some members of the Senegalese national team very well, when he was selected in November (against Brazil and Kenya), it was with the aim of giving him a taste of playing for the national team. More with the World Cup in mind than the Africa Cup of Nations. His appearances with PSG ultimately led to… It all happened so fast.”
“Falling back into obscurity after having been on top of the African continent, that’s something you have to deal with.” “If I compare him to Gessime Yassine – now at Strasbourg – when he returned to Dunkirk after winning the U20 World Cup, he was the star of the team. The problem is that in Paris, there are only stars. Falling back into anonymity after having been on top of the African continent is something you have to deal with.”
The key point is that we too quickly confuse “progression” with “status.” Mbaye grew up at breakneck speed: exposure, selection, title, then back to a locker room where every position is a constant battle. And this “fall” is nothing to worry about at 18: it’s often the most formative phase, the one where you learn to exist without the spotlight, to maintain your reflexes when your playing time decreases, to remain useful when the script is no longer written for you.
In Paris, you’re not “the returning star,” you become a player again who has to prove himself in training, accept the competition, and get back into the swing of daily life. Not rushing things is precisely what it means: continuing to progress even when you’re less visible.
PSG doesn’t need Mbaye to “save” anything; they need him to build himself up. How he manages his return, his rhythm, and his place in the rotation will reveal more about his maturity than any tournament highlight.
