Former World Cup winner shares his view on PSG’s post-Mbappe success – ‘They were right to close the door’ | OneFootball

Former Barcelona midfielder Emmanuel Petit has offered his perspective on Paris Saint-Germain’s success following the departure of Kylian Mbappe, while also reflecting on the forward’s first steps at Real Madrid.

Since leaving Paris for Madrid, Mbappe has witnessed PSG thrive under Luis Enrique.

The French giants managed to win a historic treble and even reached the FIFA Club World Cup final.

Along the way, they knocked out Real Madrid but eventually lost to Chelsea in the final.

Petit, a World Cup winner with France, was asked about PSG’s growth without Mbappe and how the French star has adapted to life in Spain.

He explained, “He knows he must do something bigger than last year. He went to Madrid with one goal: to win the Champions League and the Ballon d’Or. And PSG won it instead.

“The expectations are very high, and this is also the season before the World Cup. The pressure will be enormous, both at Madrid and in the French national team,” he said.

PSG without Mbappe

Petit pointed out that PSG benefitted most from Mbappe’s exit. “Everyone at PSG (the board, the fans) said that, since he left, they finally had a real team, with soul.

Kylian Mbappe has thrived at Real Madrid individually. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

“Everyone played for each other and there were no selfish footballers on the pitch.

“And recently it seems that it was shown that they were right to close the door on Kylian, who also wanted to go to Madrid himself.”

He also recognised that Mbappe’s start in Madrid has been positive. “At the moment, his start to the campaign is positive, scoring goals and being decisive.”

Madrid’s transition

Petit reminded that Madrid themselves were in a transition year. With Toni Kroos retired, Luka Modric in decline, the squad had to adapt last season.

“Kylian had a good campaign and scored a lot of goals,” Petit noted.

However, he added that Carlo Ancelotti faced another problem last year, “The ego clashes between Rodrygo, Vinicius, Bellingham and Mbappe, which didn’t help either.”

Petit concluded with a warning about the pressure surrounding the French star: “All the attention fell on the Parisian striker and opted for the easy way, saying that Madrid’s problems were because of him.

“But now, the pressure on him is even greater than last season,” he concluded.

Source: SPORT