Mbaye: why his return to PSG is proving tough | OneFootball

Back at Paris Saint-Germain after the AFCON, Ibrahim Mbaye (18 years old), PSG’s right winger, finds himself facing a harsh reality: in Paris, the “winner” label guarantees nothing. In L’Équipe, Landry Chauvin describes the emotional rollercoaster and the risk of falling back into anonymity among the stars.

“It happened so fast.”

“Falling back into anonymity after being on top of African football—you have to handle it.”

The key point is that we too often confuse “progression” with “status.” Mbaye grew up at lightning speed: exposure, national team call-up, a title, then a return to a locker room where every position is a constant battle. And this “ebb” is nothing tragic at 18: it’s often the most formative phase, the one where you learn to exist without the spotlight, to keep the right habits when your minutes drop, to remain useful when the script is no longer written for you.

In Paris, you’re not “the star coming back,” you become once again a player who must prove himself in training, accept competition, and get back into the rhythm of daily life. Not skipping steps is exactly that: continuing to progress even when you’re less visible.

PSG doesn’t need Mbaye to “save” anything: they need him to build himself. How he manages his return, his rhythm, and his place in the rotation will say more about his maturity than any tournament highlight.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.