Ex-PSG director: 'We should have sold Mbappe in 2021'

Tom Weber

Updated: 5 Nov 2024 04:51 CST
3 min read

Former PSG director Leonardo is convinced that the club should have offloaded Kylian Mbappe much, much sooner.

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The Frenchman completed his dream move to Real Madrid in the summer, leaving PSG on a free transfer after a two or even three-year saga. Mbappe hasn't quite had the desired impact just yet but he remains one of the best in the business.

The 25-year-old departed PSG as a club legend, but his protracted exit also made him plenty of enemies in his hometown. Mbappe had the chance to leave PSG already on a free transfer in 2022 but an 11th-hour U-turn saw him pen a contract extension at the club.

Real Madrid unsurprisingly weren't happy about this but even at PSG, this decision ruffled some feathers. Speaking to Le Figaro, former sporting director Leonardo has now given his view of what transpired in 2021 and 2022 and what PSG could - and should - have done better.

Leonardo: Mbappe should have been sold in 2021

The former PSG player was in the midst of the Mbappe contract drama and, according to him, the French giants should have simply taken Real Madrid's money and moved on.

"I was against [the contract extension] at the level it was done. Always. From the beginning. I even think he was supposed to be 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 is it manageable afterwards? If you lose a player, it's annoying, but the club is not going to die. What great institution has collapsed by losing a player? None. It can take time, but you always get back up. I was a player, but no element can ever be more important than a club."