'The time has come for Kylian Mbappe to leave' - PSG star slammed for his 'behaviour' amid Real Madrid transfer links in shocking rant from ex-sporting director Leonardo

Posted Monday, July 10, 2023 by Goal.com

Kylian Mbappe has been told to leave Paris Saint-Germain in a shocking rant from the club's former sporting director Leonardo.

WHAT HAPPENED? Mbappe threw his future into doubt earlier this summer by revealing that he will not be extending his stay at PSG beyond the end of the 2023-24 campaign. The World Cup winner snubbed a move to Real Madrid last summer in favour of signing a new two-year deal at PSG, but talk of a potential switch to Santiago Bernabeu is raging once again. PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has insisted that Mbappe will not be allowed to leave the club as a free agent next year, with offers set to be invited for a prized asset if he does not agree to a renewal by the end of the month. Leonardo worked with Mbappe at Parc des Princes for three seasons before leaving the club last summer, and believes that now is the time for the French champions to cut ties with their star forward.

WHAT THEY SAID: "For the good of PSG, I think the time has come for Mbappe to go, no matter what," Leonardo said in an interview with L'Equipe. "Paris-Saint-Germain existed before Kylian Mbappe and it will exist after him. He's been in Paris for six years and, over those six seasons, five different clubs have won the Champions League (Real Madrid in 2018 and 2022, Liverpool in 2019, Bayern Munich in 2020, Chelsea in 2021 and Manchester City in 2023), none of which had Mbappe in their ranks. That means it's entirely possible to win this competition without him."

Leonardo added on the negative impact he feels that Mbappe has had behind the scenes at Parc des Princes: "With his behavior over the last two years, Mbappe is showing that he's not yet a player capable of really guiding a team. He's a great player, not a leader. He's a great goalscorer, not a creative one. It's hard to build a team around him."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Mbappe, who scored 29 goals in Ligue last season to win the Golden Boot for a fifth year in a row, further fuelled the speculation surrounding his future by publicly criticising PSG in a sit down with France Football last week. He said: "We are in a consumer society, where 'it's good, but do it again'. And the fact that I'm right next door, in Paris... I think playing at PSG doesn't help much because it's a divisive team, a divisive club. So, of course it attracts gossip but it doesn't bother me because I know what I'm doing and how I do it."

WHAT'S NEXT? It has been reported that PSG will demand a €200m (£171m/$217m) transfer fee for Mbappe if he refuses to extend his contract. Real Madrid continues to be mooted as the 24-year-old's most likely next destination, but he's also reportedly attracting interest from Premier League giants Liverpool and Arsenal.