Kylian Mbappé and Luis Enrique at PSG, respect alongside relentless demands | OneFootball

During 2023-2024 at PSG, Luis Enrique lauded and defended Kylian Mbappé while holding him to exacting standards as his exit neared. According to L'Équipe, after Mbappé told the club in mid-February he would not extend, Enrique planned for the future and the forward's role shrank.

He was withdrawn at half-time at Monaco 0-0 on 1 March, then replaced on the hour in his final Classique at Marseille 2-0 on 31 March. The demotion clouded the end of his seven-year Paris spell, yet it did not break his rapport with the Asturian.

In May 2024, once his departure was confirmed, Enrique rated him 10 out of 10 as a person and as a player. Their bond dated to summer 2023, when Mbappé was sent to train away from the first team and the coach told Nasser al-Khelaïfi that PSG with him was not the same as without him.

They were not close, but respect was mutual. Enrique even bent his collective creed to suit his striker, as he once did with Lionel Messi at Barcelona. After a hat-trick in a 3-0 win at Reims in November 2023, he still said the team needed more from Mbappé without the ball.

Before the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Barcelona in April, he challenged Mbappé to lead defensively, invoking Michael Jordan and demanding top-level work when the goals did not come.

Enrique believed he could push him beyond talent towards collective habits. Thomas Tuchel tried similar in autumn 2019, showing team-mates stats that had Mbappé first for attacking metrics ahead of Messi, but last for intercepted balls, a provocation that drew a reaction.

Source: L'Équipe