Former PSG Director Leonardo Says It Is Time For Kylian Mbappe To Leave: "He Is A Great Player, Not A Leader"

Former Paris Saint-Germain director Leonardo wants the club to get rid of Kylian Mbappe. He said PSG "existed before Kylian Mbappe and will exist after him."

Former Paris Saint-Germain director Leonardo has urged the club to get rid of Kylian Mbappe this summer.

Mbappe has one year remaining on his current contract and has informed PSG that he does not intend to sign a new deal.

The 24-year-old has also said that he wishes to remain at the Parc des Princes until the end of the 2023/24 season.

However, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi recently gave Mbappe a public ultimatum, effectively telling his star striker that he must sign a new contract or leave this summer.

This is because Al-Khelaifi is not prepared to let Mbappe leave on a free transfer next year.

Kylian Mbappe has less than 12 months left on his current contract with Paris Saint-Germain :: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire/Matthieu Mirville

PSG are expected to demand a transfer fee in the region of €200 million to sanction Mbappe's sale.

Real Madrid are keen to sign him. But it is likely that PSG may need to lower their demands to tempt the Spanish club to buy the player this summer, instead of potentially waiting 12 months to get him for nothing.

Leonardo, who was PSG's director of football between 2011 and 2013, believes that his old team would be best served if Mbappe departed sooner rather than later.

"For the good of PSG, I think the time has come for Mbappe to leave, whatever happens," Leonardo told L'Equipe.

"Paris-Saint-Germain existed before Kylian Mbappe and will exist after him."

Former Brazilian soccer star Leonardo pictured in 2013 during his time as director of football at PSG :: IMAGO/PanoramiC/Federico Pestellini

Mbappe has been at PSG since 2017 and is the club's all-time leading scorer with 212 goals in 260 games.

He has won 12 team trophies with PSG, including five Ligue 1 titles.

But Leonardo believes that Mbappe's lack of European success with PSG proves that he is not irreplaceable. 

Leonardo added: "He has been in Paris for six years and, in those six seasons, five different clubs have won the Champions League (Real Madrid in 2018 and 2022, Liverpool in 2019, Bayern Munich in 2020, Chelsea in 2021 and Manchester City in 2023), none of them had Mbappe in their ranks. That means it's totally possible to win this competition without him.

"Due to his behavior in the last two years, Mbappe has shown that he is still not a player capable of really leading a team.

"He is a great player, not a leader. He is a great goalscorer, not a playmaker. It is difficult to build a team around him."