Paris Saint-Germain’s chief, Leonardo, has reacted firmly to claims of a purported massive $55.6M (€50M) salary proposal for Kylian Mbappé and an impending move for former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane amid rumors of Mauricio Pochettino’s imminent exit.
The Parc des Princes’ Brazilian chief subsequently denied both claims, firmly denying the existence of ongoing talks to tie Mbappe to a new deal and that there they had never engaged in any conversation with Zidane to replace Pochettino.
Understandably there is an unsettled atmosphere of disquiet around the Parisian club at present with in a big summer lying in wait ahead with the club still in the dark with regards to Mbappe’s decision regarding his immediate future. The club’s poster boy is out of contract this summer and has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid in June despite his assertions that no decision has yet been made yet.
PSG fans had been given at least some fresh hope recently with news breaking out in France that the club was preparing a mega colossal deal for their player with the golden fleece as Le Parisien reported that the Parisian club were not willing to relinquish their mission to tie down Mbappe for a few more years and had thus prepared a bumper proposal that would see the striker earning $55.6m per year, with an added bonus of $111.1M (€100M) also supposedly added thrown in as incentive for the forward signing the extension, and would run until 2024.
However, the claims have been rebuffed by Leonard in no uncertain terms, who insists that the salary quantum will be the last thing to be discussed on the extension offer to Mbappe.
In an interview with L’Équipé, he said: “Chances of Mbappe staying? I can’t say, but we have a possibility. As long as there is no signature, we will try everything, we will do everything to keep him.”
As for the supposed mega deal being planned, he added: “We want to put Kylian in the best conditions to become the best player possible. The last thing we will put on Mbappé’s contract will be the salary amount.”
Leonard also addressed the rumors encircling the club’s managerial post vis-à-vis Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane. With the French club in pole position to secure the Ligue 1 and closing in on the Champions League quarter-finals, he clarified that there was no need to replace Pochettino with Zidane despite the wide speculations.
“We’ve never thought about changing our manager,” he said. We’ve never contacted Zidane or anyone. “I can say that Mauricio Pochettino has never asked to leave. I have no problem with him. We talk about everything”.