Behind the scenes of Kylian Mbappé’s announcement: PSG caught unaware and notable absences | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappé (25) has taken his first steps towards officially becoming a Real Madrid player after he announced his departure from Paris Saint-Germain yesterday evening.

In a short video released by the record goal scorer at the club, he talked about how painful it was saying goodbye and thanked the long list of managers who have guided him during his seven-year stay, as well as two of the three sporting directors: Leonardo and Luís Campos.

The two notable absences in his goodbye message were stark, Nasser Al-Khelaifi and the sporting director Antero Henrique. The omission of the president seemed obvious if not a touch harsh, their relationship has been beyond repair since the start of the season when Al-Khelaifi forced Mbappé into the reserves.

According to L’Équipe, the two have allegedly avoided one another for the past few weeks as they went beyond limiting their interactions, with it being said that their relationship was so bad that they did not even want to have to say hello to one another.

Henrique on the other hand is held responsible for what Mbappé believes to be broken promises from the summer of 2022 when the club did not fully commit to the path they now find themselves on.

PSG surprised by Kylian Mbappé’s timing

Mbappé had recorded the announcement weeks in advance and had attempted to keep it as secret as possible. The Frenchman did not communicate with the PSG hierarchy about the timing of his announcement, with the club being caught unaware, hence there was no official communique on their social media or the website.

The president was not informed by Mbappé (another hint towards the irreparable differences between the two) although according to L’Équipe, Campos was told beforehand. Allegedly the club told the paper that they were “relieved” by the decision being made public: “We can continue to build a young, disciplined workforce, with less ego, and focused on the collective. What awaits us is much more positive.”

GFFN | Nick Hartland