Real Madrid: Leonardo: “I was against Mbappe’s extension, always, from the very beginning”

He real Madrid was able to sign Design in the summer of 2021. Then-Sports Director PSG, Leonardreturned to that end of the season, when the white club offered 200 million euros already in August, and Kylian’s contract had one year remaining. Leonardo admitted that he was in favor of the transfer and that it was not in fact intended that the player would end up staying in Paris. Something similar happened in 2022, as described in an interview with Le Figaro newspaper. That summer, he did not agree to a million-dollar contract extension and thought he would leave for a white club.

“I was against (Mbappe’s extension), especially at the level that was done. Always. From the very beginning,” Leonardo insists. about the difficult financial costs he had to undertake to keep Mbappe. “I even think he should have been sold at the end of the 2020-21 season, when PSG received an offer from Real Madrid and there was only one year left on his contract,” adds the former sporting director. After the extension, he left the position due to disagreements with the board over the Kilian issue.

“How can we deal with this situation? If you lose a player, it’s annoying, but the club won’t die because of it.” What great institution collapsed after losing a player? Nobody. It may take time, but you always get better. I was a player, but a player can never be more important than the club.” Leonardo added.

His split with PSG

Leonardo split with Nasser Al-Khelaifi and especially with the Emir of Qatar (Tameem bin Hamad Al Thani), but the Brazilian also spoke about his move to PSG in the summer of 2011: “I remember all the moments. When the club came to look for me, I was the coach of Inter Milan, I needed to build a future, and they called me and said that they would buy the Paris club.that the revolution will be huge, wanting to shine in the Champions League. I arrived in Paris on July 14th, just like when I was a player. “The championship started on August 6, and in 20 days we recruited 9-10 players.”

“It was wonderful. We lost in the Champions League to Messi’s great Barcelona without losing this season. I also liked the second part. We reached the Champions League final, the only one so far. But beyond all this, my history with Paris is sacrosanct. And I don’t say this to open the door to anything. This is my heart speaking,” he concludes.