One evening last December in Dortmund, Kylian Mbappé learned that Paris Saint-Germain was no longer dancing to his tune. In a complicated game, France’s series champions saved their place in the knockout phase of the Champions League with a draw. Coach Luis Enrique gave the order to withdraw in the last few minutes so as not to jeopardize the result. Much to the annoyance of Mbappé, who would have liked to score the missing goal to win the group. The striker made his displeasure known with derogatory hand gestures and comments (“What are we playing?”), left Westphalia sulking – and as always when it comes to France’s greatest son, the alarm was on high. But Luis Enrique stayed cool, picked up the gauntlet and a few days later happily called his route “one of the best decisions of my career”.
Now “Le PSG” is returning to Dortmund for the semi-finals – and everyone knows that the coach was right. The whole of Europe noticed how clever BVB is in open field battles in the quarter-finals against Atlético Madrid. Meanwhile, second place in the group proved to be little problem for Paris, as they had a grateful draw with San Sebastián in the round of 16, before Enrique’s triumph against his former club FC Barcelona in the quarter-finals brought further prestige. Fortune can also help a coach to assert the authority that is needed in Paris.
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The Qatar club is going through a cultural revolution, the star principle is being buried under the Eiffel Tower – for the PSG, and perhaps beyond. In the past decade, no club has relied as much on names and figures as PSG, since it expanded the combat zone of world football in 2017 and signed the Brazilian Neymar and Mbappé for 400 million euros. Especially since Lionel Messi also did the honors from 2021 onwards, it was definitely worth it from a PR perspective. “Forbes” puts the value of a PSG at around four billion euros, for which Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund only paid 100 million euros when it was taken over in 2011. On the other hand, no similarly ambitious club has failed so dramatically in terms of sport.
Neymar was partying, Messi was shuffling along
Paris only reached a Champions League final, in the Corona year 2020 under coach Thomas Tuchel against FC Bayern (0-1). The variety theater with jingling stars, on the other hand, was given practically every week. Neymar was partying, Messi was shuffling along, Mbappé was demanding more privileges, and all three of them refused pretty much any serious defensive work. Annoyed, club boss Nasser Al-Khelaïfi announced the “end of bling-bling” as early as 2022.
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It then took another season before the break was actually completed. Messi went to Miami, Neymar received 90 million euros from Saudi Arabia – and Luis Enrique prevailed in the coaching casting against Julian Nagelsmann, a man who gives leadership to whoever orders leadership. “I am the leader in my teams” – that’s what he boasted in Barcelona before he led the club to its last Champions League title to date in 2015, and that’s what he then did with the Spanish national team, with whom he won in 2021 Reached the European Championship semi-finals.
“I am the leader”: Luis Enrique follows his words with actions, to the delight of the club
Source: AFP/FRANCK FIFE
In Paris they have been completely enthralled by his work so far. Not just because he was only two points from four games away from the championship or because he reached the French Cup final – most of his predecessors also managed that. But because PSG gives the impression of team football. Instead of speculating primarily on the strokes of genius of his attackers, as he used to do, he shows pressing, willingness to run and dominance-oriented combination play.
The team looks physically fit and their form has been steadily increasing since the start of the season. In short, there seems to be someone at work who knows exactly what he’s doing, and so hardly anyone is bothered by Luis Enrique’s sometimes self-important manner or the fact that he doesn’t speak French. “We have the best coach in the world,” says Al-Khelaïfi.
Change in the law for Mbappé
This also makes it easier to come to terms with Mbappé, 25, saying goodbye. Nobody can seriously deny that his goals (43 in 43 games this season so far) will be as missed as his genius. But unlike two years ago with a record salary offer and personal interventions from the Emir of Qatar and French President Macron, the PSG milieu is currently no longer making any significant attempts to prevent the 2018 World Cup winner and 2022 World Cup top scorer from his announced departure. At times, Enrique even seemed to enjoy torturing Mbappé’s ego with frequent substitutions in Ligue 1. “Sooner or later we’ll have to get used to playing without him,” the coach argued slyly.
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Otherwise, the trainer hardly misses an opportunity for small tips. “We will be even better next season,” he explained, meaning not only that the annual costs of Mbappé, which have so far amounted to around 200 million euros, can be invested in other professionals (the fact that the PSG suddenly renounces financial doping is more likely). not to go out). But also that his team could always appear as compact as it currently does in the Champions League, where the coach and star have joined forces to form a community of convenience. Mbappé plays 90 minutes, scores as usual and accepts all the instructions.
New tasks in his last season: Kylian Mbappé has to put himself at the service of the team
Which: AP/Michel Euler
In the 4-1 win in Barcelona, he occupied the centre-forward position he didn’t like and left the spectacle to the in-form former Dortmund player Ousmane Dembélé. Although he scored from a penalty and rounded off the result, it was no coincidence that Luis Enrique later praised the secondary virtue of a star with his pressing. “A facet of the game that he doesn’t normally excel in,” but “when he does that, we’re a much better team.” Again, somewhat poisoned praise, but Mbappé will put up with a lot to achieve “my dream.” Realize: If he leaves Paris with the European Cup title he longs for, he would still go through the front door.
The concerns at Real Madrid
Such a success would also be a lesson for his new club, which will most likely be called Real Madrid. The fact that a planned amendment to the capital region’s law is known as “Ley Mbappé” shows how unequivocally Mbappé’s commitment is assumed there. In order to promote investment, top earners who come from abroad should only have to pay minimally more taxes than locals in the lower income classes. The adoption by the summer is considered certain, the administrative assistance from the regional head of government Isabel Díaz Ayuso, an avowed Real fan, comes at exactly the right time – because the financial aspects of the transfer are giving the club the biggest headache.
It’s less about the fact that the solvent Real couldn’t afford a princely salary for Mbappé than about the internal effect: FC Bayern’s semi-final opponent has a harmonious team, whose stars like Jude Bellingham, 20, or Vinícius Júnior, 23, on They are at the beginning of their career and therefore still have a relatively moderate salary. However, a stratospheric Mbappé salary could quickly make her present to President Florentino Pérez and gradually disrupt the squad’s salary structure. If Mbappé now receives more net of the gross, he would not have to be paid as lavishly as in Paris, and the effect could be contained.
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Return to professional football
In terms of sport, the hero club Real also feels equipped to deal with the power of a figure such as the one the club recently had in Cristiano Ronaldo. However, the experienced former coach Vicente del Bosque warned “not to underestimate those who are there”. Del Bosque knows what he is talking about, he coached Real in the “Galactic” era. In the early 2000s, President Pérez signed a world football star every summer: Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham. But with each hero the success became less and less. Pérez doesn’t want to repeat the same mistake a second time. Paris Saint-Germain has already done that.
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