Leonardo: I didn’t agree with Mbappe’s conditions when he renewed his contract back then. If he wants to leave, he should be allowed to leave.

Leonardo, the former sports director of Paris Saint-Germain, talked about the original contract extension with Mbappe in an interview with RMC.

Mbappe wanted to leave Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, but the club insisted on keeping Mbappe at the time and extended his contract with Mbappe for three years in May 2022 (one of which is an option). Just hours after Mbappe renewed his contract, Leonardo was fired by Paris Saint-Germain. Leonardo first said: "When he renewed his contract, he put forward some conditions for staying in the team, but I did not agree. Therefore, I could not continue to stay in the club. There were some options at the time, and if I had known earlier, I would have refused. This is not a matter of money. He stayed because he is a Parisian, but he actually wants to go to Real Madrid."

Leonardo said that Paris Saint-Germain should let Mbappe leave in 2021. "He should have left because he wanted to leave. If he wants to leave, let's go! That's what I think. But I understand that when a club spends a lot of money to buy a player, you can't just let him go, you have to think carefully. And when he doesn't leave, you have to deal with it. For me, if you have the opportunity to let a player go The player that everyone wants to leave, then you should let him go. You can't say, 'No, stay, please. ' In my opinion, that doesn't work."

Leonardo then talked about his dismissal from Paris Saint-Germain: "I don't know if he was targeting me, but we had different views at that stage. As a result, we couldn't continue to cooperate. I also had a good time with Mbappe's team, but in the end, it became more difficult and we had disagreements."

Paris Saint-Germain once formed a forward trident of Mbappe, Messi, and Neymar. Leonardo said: "When Neymar and Mbappe joined, I was not there at the beginning. These agreements are very important. Maybe it is difficult to have Neymar and Mbappe at the same time, but when you have the opportunity to get a very good 18-year-old French international and another player who is the best in the world at the time, you have to try."

Mbappe finally left Paris Saint-Germain and joined Real Madrid for free after the contract expired in 2024. Moreover, Mbappe is still in a lawsuit with Paris Saint-Germain, claiming that the club owes wages, while Paris Saint-Germain countersued Mbappe and demanded compensation.

source:7m.cn.vn2