Leonardo's outings in the press are rare but they make noise. Former sporting director of Paris Saint-Germain (2011-2013) and (2019-2022), Leonardo spoke about the case of Kylian Mbappé who left the capital club free of any contract this summer.
The former Brazilian leader was closest to the soap opera when it extended his contract at the end of the 2021-2022 season before he was let go by the club in the wake of this contract renewal.
During an interview with the newspaper Le FigaroLeonardo admitted to having been against this contract extension believing that it would give too much power to a single player. For him, the French striker should have left during the 2020-2021 season.
« I was against it, at the level that was done. Always. From the start. I even think he was supposed to be sold at the end of the 2020-2021 season, when PSG had an offer from Real Madrid and he only had one year left on his contract. How is it manageable afterwards? If you lose a player, it's annoying, but the club is not going to die. What great institution collapsed by losing a player? None. It may take a while, but you always get back up. I was a player, but nothing can ever be more important than a club,” he told the French press. The message got through.
The former player and manager of the Ile-de-France club has also closed the door to a possible and umpteenth return to France despite his attachment to the Parisian team. “ My history with Paris is untouchable. And I'm not saying that to open the door to I don't know what. It's my heart that speaks. Afterwards, it's a matter of cycle, coming back a fourth time to PSG is perhaps a little too much. Is my story with France over? Maybe, if we talk about the position of sports director. »
France
Soccer
