Paris St Germain begin life without Kylian Mbappe when the Ligue 1 season kicks off this weekend but manager Luis Enrique found himself still facing questions about the departed player at his press conference on Thursday.
The long-running saga of Mbappe’s transfer to Real Madrid finally ended at the beginning of June when the French forward joined the La Liga side, but if PSG’s manager thought the theme of his press conferences would change, he was mistaken. Mbappe’s Real career began with a goal in their Super Cup 2-0 success against Atalanta on Tuesday and, inevitably, when he faced the media before today’s trip to Le Havre, Enrique was asked by a Spanish journalist if he had watched the game.
“My God these Spanish people are boring... I didn’t imagine you were going to ask me a question about Kylian again,” the manager said as he shook his head. “But I don’t have anything to hide. I have always adored Kylian Mbappe and he is a unique and exceptional person. I wish him the best, and that Madrid lose against us.”
PSG will now need to find goals elsewhere after Mbappe went out on a high with his best-ever season at the club, netting 44 times in 48 games, and the coach is looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. “If someone else scores 40 goals, that would be great,” he said. “But based on my experience, it is better to have four players scoring 12 – that would make 48, which is more than 40. I think it’s a fascinating challenge. It’s a challenge to show that football is a collective sport.”
Enrique accepts that his side will have to adjust after losing their all-time record goalscorer, but points to the wealth of attacking options in his squad.
“This year in the team – and it’s quite rare – there are players capable of playing in many positions, Lee (Kang-In), (Marco) Asensio, Warren Zaire-Emery, I have endless possibilities in the middle and in attack, that’s my difficulty,” the former Barcelona boss said.
“We will have to change things compared to last season. Before, we went towards goal and we all looked for the same player, Kylian, who had a natural ability to score. Now a range of possibilities are open.”
PSG were unbeaten away from home in the league last season but had a tough battle at Le Havre, where keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was sent off early on and they secured a 2-0 win only with a goal in the 89th minute. They were also held 3-3 at home by the same opposition late in the season and Luis Enrique expects another difficult task as his side begin their league title defence.
“Despite the result, it was tough away to Le Havre. We really had to dig in and we will face the same difficulties this time,” the Spaniard said. “Our aim is to start the season in the best possible way and to make our fans happy from the first game. We are ready and delighted to get started.”
PSG have not been as busy as usual in the transfer market, with Portuguese teenager Joao Neves their biggest signing so far from Benfica. They may still move for a top-class striker before the deadline at the end of the month. Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, who previously starred in Ligue 1 for Lille, has been linked with a move to the French capital, although it is unclear whether he would fit in with Enrique’s preferred style of football.
For now, though, PSG’s efforts in the transfer market have been focused elsewhere, with an estimated 125mn euros invested on three players. Nineteen-year-old Portuguese midfield prodigy Neves, who appeared for his country at Euro 2024, has arrived from Benfica for 59.9mn euros, a fee which could rise by 10mn euros when bonuses are factored in.
The defence has been strengthened with the recruitment of Ecuador centre-back Willian Pacho, 22, from Eintracht Frankfurt for up to 45 million euros. PSG’s first summer signing was the Russian goalkeeper Matvey Safonov, 25, from Krasnodar in his homeland for a reported 20mn euros. He will provide competition for first-choice custodian Donnarumma.
