After the earthquake, return to calm?
The football world indeed shook on Thursday, with an epicenter located between La Factory (Boulogne-Billancourt) and the PSG Campus (Poissy).
No doubt some tremors felt as far as Doha (Qatar) too... After months, years of an endless soap opera, Kylian Mbappé will leave Paris at the end of the season.
Mercato: Kylian Mbappé will leave PSG at the end of the season, confirming a trend that has become strong for several weeks.
The person concerned had in fact announced it on Tuesday to Nasser Al-Khelaïfi.
He spoke on Friday before training, on the eve of the Parisian trip to Nantes this Saturday (9 p.m.), on behalf of the 22nd day of Ligue 1. A
“speaking (which) did not last very for a long time and was well received by her teammates
,” we explain on
RMC
radio .
A priori, the leaders did not fall off their chairs either, even if they hoped for another outcome.
They wanted to know, to be determined and to move forward, to prepare for what comes next, whether with or without “KM
”
.
It will be without.
To discover
Calendar and results Ligue 1
Ligue 1 ranking
Who will replace him next season?
Several media cite Victor Osimhen (Naples) as the priority, he whose departure is in little doubt and who would have a €130 million clause.
The club intends to recruit several
“world-class players”
.
In the newspapers of France and elsewhere, Rafael Leao (Milan), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan) and even Mo Salah (Liverpool) are mentioned with regard to the attack.
We are also talking about Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Joshua Kimmish (Bayern), Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle) and Lenny Yoro (Lille) in midfield and in defense.
The return of Xavi Simons, on loan to Leipzig, is also on the cards.
Read alsoPSG: “The club is above individualities”, comments Luis Enrique, after the announcement of Mbappé’s departure
No eddies?
In the meantime, there is a season to complete, matches to play and, if possible, to win.
Starting with this Saturday at La Beaujoire.
“It will be a totally different match from that of Wednesday (2-0 against Real Sociedad in C1, Editor’s note).
Nantes is not in a good dynamic, even if they won their last match.
It's a well-organized team defensively, with a line of five at the back and a lot of players behind the ball, the idea of hurting in transition and on set pieces.
It's always difficult away and because of the motivation of our opponents
,” explains Luis Enrique, who has the good fortune of having an almost complete group.
Nuno Mendes is indeed closer than ever to returning to business.
Only Milan Skriniar and Presnel Kimpembe still occupy the infirmary.
Besides, the L1, which Paris dominates head and shoulders (the ranking here), there is the Coupe de France (quarters against Nice) and of course the Champions League (round of 16 return on March 5 in Saint- Sebastian).
It remains to be seen what impact the announcement of Mbappé's upcoming departure will have on the group.
We think in particular of the players who are closest to him, his great Moroccan friend Achraf Hakimi, his comrade in Blue Ousmane Dembélé.
First elements of response this Saturday against the Canaries of coach Gourvennec.
According to Luis Enrique, the news did not disturb the atmosphere of training on Friday.
“Normal training before a normal match
,” he said.
Read alsoPSG: Mbappé on departure, behind the scenes of an announced divorce
The club and the team are above individuals.
Kylian Mbappé
And after ?
The Spanish coach trusts the mentality of his group.
“Until the parties concerned have spoken, I will not comment on this subject.
Kylian Mbappé has not spoken publicly, nor has anyone at the club.
For my part, I am the coach.
When the different parties have spoken, I will give you my opinion.
But we continue to work to be a better team every year.
Since I arrived, the team has been above all individuals, no exceptions on this subject.
This is our message.
The club and the team are above individualities
,” he first insisted, a bit annoyed by the questions, assuring that
“to be in (his) place, you need personality and experience. , same thing for players who play at PSG.
You should know that there are always rumors around the club, they have to be managed, there are criticisms, praise, controversies… All this is normal.
We know it in advance.
Anyone who doesn’t like that isn’t made for a club like that
,” he said.
Not false.
In any case, we can trust Mbappé to do the job until the last second of the last match of the season.
The Bondynois has already shown on multiple occasions to be impervious to pressure, as when he scored in the first leg and the return leg against Real, in 2022, while everyone – and perhaps even him – imagined wearing the Madrid tunic a few weeks later.
One example among many… Mental of steel.
Maybe he will even be released?
Note that we have not necessarily seen the best version of Mbappé since the start of the season.
Sometimes messy, sometimes erased, from time to time annoying and annoying.
This is undoubtedly largely due to his positioning - he now plays in the axis of the attack - and the tactical choices of Luis Enrique.
Nevertheless, the statistics are there, with no less than 31 goals in 30 matches since the start of the season: like his liberating goal against Real Sociedad (2-0), Wednesday, in C1,
“
KM
”
is more essential than ever in Paris.
He is obviously not alone, like the excellent Ousmane Dembélé or the surprising Bradley Barcola.
But Kylian Mbappé is class above, the kind of player who can change a match single-handedly.
Hence the difficulty in replacing him... There is no question of imagining replacing him position for position by a single player, wasted effort.
If PSG must be stronger without him, it will be thanks to his collective.
“I work every day individually and collectively, with my staff and the sports management, on the present and the future, the near future.
This is our idea, our goal throughout the season, regardless of the decisions that may be made.
It’s the same thing for the coaches and sports directors of other clubs in fact
,” squeaked Luis Enrique, not very cooperative on Friday...
Read alsoGoals, titles, Ballon d'Or... Kylian Mbappé's figures at PSG
A turning point transfer window
It is up to the Spanish technician to take advantage of Mbappé during the last months of the season.
And it is up to Parisian leaders not to make mistakes in recruitment.
Moreover, this is what could possibly destabilize part of the group: rumors will indeed be numerous, with certain players who will perhaps not be delighted to learn that we are looking for a size for their position. .
Recruited to play in the center last summer, a boy like Gonçalo Ramos will, for example, not necessarily be delighted to know that we are planning to put a big name like Osimhen in his hands... The same goes for Barcola, if Leao came to the banks of the Seine this summer.
The results of last summer remain in any case extremely mixed, despite significant investments (95 M€ for Kolo Muani, 80 for Ramos, 60 for Ugarte...).
The next transfer window will represent a strong moment in the club's history, a turning point.
We see, for example, that the post-Thiago Motta era had been so poorly anticipated that we are still looking for his successor... The Italian left in 2018. Too bad: this is exactly the profile that PSG was missing on Wednesday, in order to get out of the pressure of Real.
After establishing Fabian Ruiz in this register, Luis Enrique gave the keys to Vitinha in the second half.
It was better.
“We could have added a little more personality.
Afterwards, it’s part of this team’s learning
,” noted Mbappé after the match, regarding these difficulties in the first period.
The learning process would have to be rapid, so that the future ex-Parisian leaves through the front door this summer.