Former PSG executive slams Kylian Mbappe: 'He's a great player, not a leader'

When Kylian Mbappe decided to stay at PSG instead of leaving Real Madrid for nothing in the summer of 2022, it looked like he would become the team’s face for the years to come. However, the striker seems to have changed his mind only a year later.

Though he reportedly gave Paris Saint-Germain his word, Mbappe seems to have no intention of triggering his option for a further year to continue at the Parc des Princes until 2025.

That means the Frenchman would become a free agent at the end of the upcoming season. While his future is still uncertain, former PSG sporting director Leonardo believes it’s best for the club to part with Mbappe.

Leonardo says PSG should move on from Mbappe

“For the good of PSG, I think the time has come for Mbappe to go, no matter what,” Leonardo told L’Equipe, via Goal. “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 knows Mbappe from his three seasons in the French capital, before leaving his post last year. However, the Brazilian said Mbappe lacks leadership skills, and even suggested that PSG cannot build a team around him:

“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.”