Al-Khelaifi’s feud with Mbappe: You can’t leave on a free and strengthen our biggest rival
The relationship between Kylian Mbappe and Nasser Al Khelaifi is not going through its best period, something that was already known before the striker announced his departure. It had been deteriorating in recent years between crosses of unfulfilled promises and now, with the certain departure of the French star, seems to have hit rock bottom. With the final of the Coupe de France on Saturday night against Lyon, Mbappe will wrap up his time at PSG.
On the day of the final, L’Equipe has compiled several of the clashes that the president and the player have had, a relationship that went from being practically father to son to almost two strangers. In the summer of 2022, after renewing with PSG and not accepting Real Madrid‘s offer, Mbappe quickly realized that some of the promises he had received from the president were not going to be fulfilled, or at least as he felt they should be.
It is the player himself who has always denied having more influence than he already had on the pitch, but according to L’Equipe, his possible anger went beyond what was happening on the pitch. Last summer, it was Mbappe who took a step by announcing that he would not exercise the extra year he had as a possibility in his contract and that it would be his last season at PSG. Although the Parisian project would finally revolve around Kylian (without Leo Messi and Neymar), the decision had already been made. That famous letter deepened the crisis and he was even left out of the team during training.
It is then that the relationship with Al-Khelaifi deteriorated completely and according to L’Equipe, in a conversation with the French player, he even reproached him for leaving for free: “You can’t leave for free and reinforce our biggest rival. All the great players, Bellingham, Kane, leave by leaving money to their clubs”. It was a criticism that came after PSG lifted the ‘punishment’ of last summer when the footballer in theory waived certain clauses to be able to return to training.
What seems clear, and more seeing the words that according to L’Equipe had dedicated Al-Khelaifi to Mbappe in some of the conversations they have had during this season is that Kylian’s departure to Real Madrid has not sat well at all: “You cannot hurt PSG. You’re going to legitimize the Super League!”.
