The next act in the transfer drama surrounding Kylian Mbappé: PSG sporting director Leonardo has once again come down hard on Real Madrid, and in particular president Florentino Perez, following the latter’s recent statements.
Perez had said there would be “news about Mbappé in January” and that they hoped “everything can be resolved on 1 January”, when Mbappé will be allowed to negotiate with all clubs six months before the end of his contract without answering to his current club. Only shortly after his statements, Perez had rowed back again and spoken of wanting to act “always with due respect for PSG”.
It is precisely this respect that Leonardo is apparently missing. The Brazilian instead saw Perez’s initial statements as “a continuation of a lack of respect towards PSG and also towards Kylian”, as he told L’Equipe on Tuesday. “In the course of a week, first a Real Madrid player (meaning Karim Benzema, editor’s note), then the coach and now the president talk about Kylian as if he were already one of them. (…) I repeat: this is a lack of respect that we cannot tolerate. “
Leonardo sees affront: “This has been going on for two years “
And further: “This has been going on for two years. I just remember that the transfer period is over, that there is a season going on. There are games and Real Madrid can’t keep behaving like this. This has to stop! Kylian is a Paris St Germain player and the club knows that this relationship will last.”
Leonardo had already made similar accusations against the Madrilenians at the end of the transfer window, when Mbappé’s planned move to Real fell through. On Monday, the attacker himself spoke out for the first time.
