PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi leaves door open for Kylian Mbappe return… with French superstar expected to join Real Madrid this summer after seven seasons in Paris
- PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has left the door open for Mbappe’s return
- Both were in good spirits at the Globe Soccer Awards despite previous tensions
- Are Pep’s City the best the Premier League has ever seen? Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has revealed that the door will always be open for Kylian Mbappe to return to the club one day.
Despite the couple having a very tense relationship at times, both arrived warmly and in good spirits in Sardinia for the Globe Soccer Awards.
Mbappe is yet to confirm his next move, although it has been common knowledge for several months that Real Madrid will be his next destination.
“I wish him all the best,” Al-Khelaifi said.
“He did a great job for us in seven years and was vice-captain. He came to us as a teenager and now he is a big man, the best player in the world and I wish him all the best.’
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has left the door open for Kylian Mbappe’s return
Mbappe, the best men’s player at the Globe Soccer Awards, is expected to join Real Madrid
Although Al-Khelaifi does not elaborate on the nature of their conversations on the grounds of the famous Hotel Cala di Volpe, he is keen to keep an open door.
‘Who knows? Maybe one day he will come back to France,” he added.
‘I know his ambition, he wants to change, try a different competition and have a new experience, but he is a great boy and he had a great time in Paris.
“Just like family, you have complaints, that’s normal, but I think he really deserves only good things and I wish him all the best.”
Mbappe was left out of PSG’s squad and this final season in Paris was fraught and full of controversy.
Yet Mbappe is now philosophical about how things played out and is keen to pay tribute to a club that helped transform him into a superstar.
“Here I see some great players, a great manager and a great president. It is always an honor for me to be here with you,” Mbappe said after being crowned Best Player in Europe.
“Another trophy and it’s always a pleasure. I would like to thank my club, my president, thank you for everything about this great club, the best fans in the world, a great honor to play for this club and it was a great season.
Al-Khelaifi called Mbappe ‘great’ and both were warm and cheerful in Sardinia
Mbappe won the Coupe de France on Saturday in his last match for Paris Saint-Germain
“We won a lot of trophies and I thank my teammates and everyone who helped me. It’s part of the journey and I want to work hard to keep my name in football history.”
Mbappe won the Coupe de France in his final match for the club on Saturday, ending his final season at the club with 44 goals in 48 games in all competitions.
One thing he has never managed to achieve is the Champions League, with PSG narrowly missing out on a place in the final at Wembley this weekend, losing to Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals.
But for Al-Khelaifi, the Champions League, he claims, is no longer the obsession it once was for the Parisian giants.
‘Today one of the journalists asked me who will be your star? I said the team, the collective team. That is our strategy,” he said of PSG’s ecosystem after Mbappe.
‘It is a big change, but it also depends on the coach. Luis Enrique is the boss and I trust him. He’s doing a great job with us.
‘Even if we had lost to Newcastle and been knocked out of the Champions League, I would have said exactly the same.
‘I know we are on the right track. Even next year, the goal is to do the best to continue building the team. If we lose, that’s football.’
