Cyrille de la Morinerie // Photo credit: FRANCK FIFE / AFP
Mbappé is no longer untouchable. For the first time this season, the Bondynois was replaced during the match. A week after being a substitute in Nantes, the star was taken off the pitch, without being injured, by his coach, Sunday during the draw (1-1) against Rennes. While Paris was trailing, Kylian Mbappé left his partners in the 65th minute, replaced by Gonçalo Ramos, who scored the equalizing penalty, thus avoiding a second defeat in Ligue 1 this season for PSG.
“Sooner or later, you have to learn to play without Kylian”
The PSG coach sent a very clear message: Kylian Mbappé is now a player like any other. Luis Enrique was blunt in a press conference: “Sooner or later, you have to learn to play without Kylian”. And the Spanish technician drives home the point: “It’s a message for everyone, I’m demanding of the players. If you think that I’m going to accept that a player relaxes on the pitch. I want that, when you are the starter, you said to yourself, I want to enjoy it.”
To prepare for the future, Paris Saint-Germain first wants to rely on its very rich collective. Namely in attack: Randal Kolo Muani, Gonçalo Ramos, Ousmane Dembélé or even the young Lyonnais Bradley Barcola who has perfectly succeeded in his adaptation to Paris. The club also wants to capitalize on the strong potential of Parisian titi Warren Zaire-Emery, already international at just 17 years old, adored by Parisian supporters and promised a brilliant future.
“You have to play your best players and Mbappé is one of them!”
But should Kylian Mbappé play less now? No, replies on Europe 1 the former emblematic coach of PSG, Luis Fernández: “It’s still not nothing Mbappé. I would have loved to have him in my team. To achieve the objectives, you have to play your best players and Mbappé is one of them! We must not think for a single moment that by taking him out, we are already preparing for next season. We must first finish a season.”
The former technician of the capital club, now 64 years old and consultant for BeIN Sports, is a great admirer of the PSG star. Despite a planned departure from the club at the end of the season, the top scorer in the club’s history continues to shine and has always been exemplary: “Since he has been at PSG, Mbappé has broken records and that’s not nothing !” Unlike the former Brazilian legend Ronaldinho who experienced a decline at the end of his Parisian adventure, this is not the case for Kylian Mbappé.
Paris wants to strike hard this summer
But it is above all behind the scenes that PSG is working to turn the page. According to information from Europe 1, the Parisian club wants to strike hard this summer. The objective would first be to bring back the Dutch nugget, who is on fire in Leipzig, Germany, Xavi Simons. Even if the club no longer wants a star addition, but instead wants to build a complementary and quality squad, recruiters have an eye on the big attackers of the moment.
Victor Osimhen, who plays in Naples, was extended by the Italian club, but a release clause around 130 million euros would have been set, which is well within PSG’s ropes. The “pharaoh” of Liverpool, the Egyptian Mohamed Salah, is a name that catches the eye. Younger and very impressive, the twirling AC Milan winger, Rafael Leão, who is piling up the goals and assists in Olivier Giroud’s team. PSG can still dream of snatching Manchester City cyborg Erling Haaland, even if it seems virtually impossible.