‘A great player, not a leader’ – PSG told to sell Mbappe at all costs

Robin Bairner

• 10 Jul 2023 07:17 BST
• 3 min read

PSG have been told to sell Kylian Mbappe this summer – no matter the style they have to force him out the door – by club legend Leonardo.

Mbappe finds himself in the midst of an arm wrestle with the Ligue 1 champions. Refusing to take up the optional year in his contract but also stating that he does not want to be sold, meaning that he will become a free agent in 2024.

Real Madrid are the red-hot favourites to sign the France international star when his deal does run out, but they face potential competition from the Premier League, with Arsenal, in particular, thought to stand a chance of landing the 24-year-old.

MORE: Real Madrid believe Mbappe will cost €400m

Leonardo, who has spent time at PSG in the role of a player and as a director, says that for the good of the Parc des Princes side, it’s time for a chance.

Speaking to L’Equipe, he said: “For the good of PSG, I think the time has come for Mbappe to leave, no matter how.

“Paris-Saint-Germain existed before Kylian Mbappe and it will exist after him. He has been in Paris for six years and in those six seasons five different clubs have won the Champions League, and none had Mbappé in their ranks. This means that it is entirely possible to win this competition without him.”

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Mbappe's attitude under fire

Leonardo says that Mbappe’s attitude shows that he still has much to learn and doubts his ability to be a player a whole team can be constructed around.

“With his behaviour over the past two years, Mbappe shows that he is not yet a player capable of really guiding a team. He is a great player, not a leader. He is a great scorer, not a creative. It's hard to build a team around him,” he added.

Mbappe has yet to join up with PSG for pre-season training but should hook up with the club imminently, despite an increasingly ugly battle being played out in the media over his future.