Whilst Kylian Mbappé’s (25) final season at Paris Saint-Germain was a turbulent one, he is at least still remembered fondly by his former manager Luis Enrique.
As Luis Enrique arrived at PSG in the summer of 2023, he was immediately faced with a crisis. Refusing to sign a contract extension, Mbappé was left out of Les Parisiens’ pre-season tour. Those were orders from above, and it meant that the France captain also missed the first week of the Ligue 1 campaign.
In the words of Mbappé, it was Luís Campos and Luis Enrique who “saved” him, facilitating his reintegration into the first-team set-up. Merely by playing football, Mbappé deemed last season a “success”, despite not reaching his usual levels, and he has, at least in part, Luis Enrique to thank for that.
Towards the end of the season, with the writing on the wall and a free transfer to Real Madrid a foregone conclusion, Mbappé saw his game time decrease, however, there was never any sign of a rift between the forward and his manager. In a documentary on Luís Enrique’s debut season at PSG, broadcast by Movistar, Luís Enrique spoke fondly of the new Real Madrid forward.
“In Kylian’s case, I discovered a marvellous player. On a human level, he was also exceptional, which you see rarely when you see a player at this level. [He was] human and affectionate. He is a marvellous player. What a shame that he went to Real Madrid, especially for us at the time. I hope it goes well for him,” said Luis Enrique in the documentary, transcribed by RMC Sport.
He added, “I don’t hold anything against him. We always try to improve his strengths and cover his weaknesses. He has always been very polite and respectful, as was his brother (Ethan Mbappé) and his parents.”
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
