Kylian Mbappé and the game of “false leads”. This is how Marca, the main sports news daily in Spain, collects this Monday morning the new declarations of the PSG striker about his future, pronounced Sunday evening after the 5-1 success against Lorient. A speech repeated on French television but also in front of foreign rights holders then in the mixed zone in front of many media. Like the rest of the press in Spain, Marca seems somewhat disconcerted by “this new discourse”, noted by the daily AS this time.
In a country that has become accustomed to analyzing Kylian Mbappé’s slightest gesture on the pitch, in his public appearances or on social networks, such speaking out once again takes on immense proportions. “This Sunday, Mbappé thrilled PSG and made Real Madrid nervous,” writes AS. In the famous specialized program “El Chiringuito”, the statements of the 2018 world champion provoked a torrent of debate. But, almost everywhere, the same message came through sources from Real Madrid: “Tranquility”.
Recruiting Mbappé, a necessity for Real
This has also been the case for months in the media across the Pyrenees. “At Real, everyone remains calm in the face of this situation, reports for example Marca on Monday. The signing of the French crack is complete. It would be a huge surprise to see him back down, faced with a decision that seems to be more than made. So real serenity or well-controlled communication for the leaders of Real? Difficult to have definitive answers in this file with the multiple actors.
Each (Real and PSG) therefore advances its pawns. But the pressure is mounting in the Spanish capital, where the latest results have come as a cruel reminder to Madrid fans of the need for renewal in an aging workforce. Like the heavy setback conceded at home against Barça (0-4) or the narrow victory of the weekend against Celta Vigo (2-1) thanks to two penalties from Karim Benzema. And Real is approaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea this week.
By joining the semi-finals for the second year in a row, Real hopes to prove to Mbappé the solidity of its sporting project, in direct opposition to the failure of PSG in the round of 16. He also knows that he will need the French badly to last at the highest level in the coming seasons. “Tranquility” is partly true for the time being. But if the former Monegasque ends up extending to PSG, it will rather be a state of emergency.