The departure of Kylian Mbappe came as a huge loss to Paris Saint-Germain, losing the trio of Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar within the space of two summers, having failed to win the Champions League.
After a host of managers such as Carlo Ancelotti, Mauricio Pochettino, Unai Emery and Thomas Tuchel all trying, and failing, to control the dressing room at Parc des Princes, the club seem to be pushing in one direction at the moment with Luis Enrique in charge, despite being knocked out of the Champions League last season at the semi-final stage.
Since Enrique took over the reins in Paris in July 2023, working with Mbappe for just one season, it seemed from the outside that the pair didn’t enjoy the best working relationship, though Enrique admitted it was a “pity” that Mbappe joined Real Madrid.
Speaking in a documentary from Movistar, Enrique said: “In Kylian’s case, I met a wonderful player. A person of an exceptional personal level, which you rarely find when you arrive and see a player of that level.
“Human, affectionate, close. He is a wonderful player. What a pity he went to Madrid. Especially for us at the time. But life is also part of the game.”
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Mbappe’s summer transfer to Madrid had seemed inevitable over the last few years, with the Frenchman first having trials with the Spanish giants at the age of 13.
Mbappe left PSG as the club’s all-time record goalscorer, finding the net 256 times in 308 appearances, a considerable distance ahead of Edinson Cavani who left the French capital on 200 goals.
Enrique also granted his best wishes to Mbappe, as well as his younger brother Ethan, who also left the club for Lille in the summer.
He said: “I hope everything goes very well for him. I have nothing to reproach him for, he conditioned his departure.
“We always try to improve his virtues and cover his defects. He has always been very polite and respectful. Also his brother and his parents.”
Mbappe has had a dream start to life in Madrid having scored on both his debut in the Super Cup and in the Champions League.
So far for the season, Mbappe has six goals, and he will be hoping to add to that tally on Tuesday night when Los Blancos face Alaves in La Liga.
As for PSG, they are sat at the top of Ligue 1, as is often the case, with the likes of Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele shining in the absence of Mbappe.
