Al-Khelaifi issues update on Mbappe & Zidane moves

Carlo Garganese

30 Nov 2021 06:23 CST
3 min read

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi is still hopeful that Kylian Mbappe will stay at the club, while he denies any contact with Zinedine Zidane.

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Mbappe’s contract at PSG expires at the end of the current season and it seems highly unlikely that he will be penning an extension.

Instead, the World Cup winner plans to join Real Madrid on a Bosman Transfer, having come very close to moving to the Santiago Bernabeu this past summer.

It has been unanimously accepted among all reliable media outlets that the transfer is already done for Mbappe to join Madrid on a free.

What did Al-Khelaifi say about Mbappe?

However, Al-Khelaifi still hopes that Mbappe can stay – despite the attacker rejecting numerous contract offers.

“He’s a great player. He knows what he wants to do, and so do we,” the president told L’Equipe.

“Are the renewal talks progressing? I hope so!”

Mbappe has scored 120 goals in 145 games since joining PSG from Monaco in 2017.

What did Al-Khelaifi say about Zidane?

Al-Khelaifi also commented on the reports that Zinedine Zidane could replace Mauricio Pochettino as PSG coach.

Pochettino was heavily linked with the Man Utd job last week before Ralf Rangnick was appointed until the end of the season.

🎙Nasser al-Khelaïfi to @lachainelequipe: "We are very happy with Mauricio Pochettino 🇦🇷, he does a good job. We need time too. I see all the rumours, that we talk with other coaches, and that's not true." [@hadrien_grenier] #PSG pic.twitter.com/Jm9uBtPiIx
— RouteOneFootball (@Route1futbol) November 29, 2021

If Pochettino had left for Old Trafford, it was reported that PSG would have replaced him with Zidane, who enjoys a very close relationship with the Qatari owners.

"We are very happy with Mauricio Pochettino, he does a good job,” Al-Khelaifi added.

“We need time too. I see all the rumours, that we talk with other coaches, and that's not true.

“Zidane is a top coach but there has been zero contact.”

Pochettino has struggled to get the best out of PSG’s three-pronged attack of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Mbappe.