Leonardo’s word is rare. And it is expected since the ouster of Thomas Tuchel, ousting that the Brazilian sporting director communicated directly to the German coach on the evening of December 23 after a 4-0 victory against Strasbourg. The appointment of Mauricio Pochettino has not triggered a public speech on his part either. Here it is finally, since he spoke in France Football, to be released tomorrow. He explains in particular the reasons for the dismissal of Tuchel, evoking a complicated relationship with the German.
But Leonardo also spoke of the hot files of the Parisian summer, namely the cases of Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, the two stars of the Parisian workforce under contract until 2022. It is a pivotal summer for PSG, which will clearly orient the club’s strategy in the medium and long term with regard to the sums involved. Should PSG do everything to retain the two men, one of the two, neither of the two? Should he accept the departure of one of the two to recover liquidity while the economic crisis is raging?
Do not suffer for Neymar and Mbappé, stay on the lookout for Messi
The first extracts published by France Football reveal the positioning of Leonardo. “I hope they are convinced that PSG is a good place at the moment for a very high level and ambitious football player. (…) We just have to find an agreement between their desires, their requirements, our expectations and our means. We don’t have to beg them: “Please stay.” It’s more argued than that. Those who really want to stay will remain. We talk regularly and I have good feelings on these two issues. ” Leonardo does not want to submit to the goodwill of the two players and tries to keep his hand, in a posture reminiscent of that taken against Neymar, when the latter was doing everything to leave PSG in the summer of 2019.
In addition to these two priority files, Leonardo has agreed to raise the Lionel Messi case, while the Argentinian will be at the end of his contract at the end of the season with FC Barcelona. A Barça that he wanted to leave during the last offseason. Does PSG really have its chances and, above all, does it want to try something? Leonardo’s answer is clear. “Great players like Messi will always be on the PSG list. But this is of course not the time to talk about it, or to dream about it. (…) But we are seated at the large table of those who are following the file closely. In fact, no, we are not yet seated, but our chair is just reserved in case … Four months in football is an eternity, especially in this period ”, he explains, referring to the time remaining before the end of the current season. Leonardo places his pawns and refines his communication on these hot topics.
