KYLIAN MBAPPE wields considerable power behind the scenes at Paris Saint-Germain.
According to sources, Paris Saint-desire Germain's to keep Kylian Mbappe happy played a key influence in recent adjustments behind the scenes at the club. Mbappe signed a new three-year contract with PSG last month, ending months of rumors connecting him to a move to Real Madrid — a decision that shocked the club.
PSG's Qatari owners were keen to keep Mbappe as his contract came to an end and went to great lengths to do so. To snub Real Madrid, the 23-year-old striker was granted an £85 million (€100 million) signing bonus and a £42.9 million (€50 million) annual wage, and he has also garnered substantial influence in wider football circles.
PSG's failure to win the Champions League has had far-reaching consequences, with sports director Leonardo dismissed and manager Mauricio Pochettino widely rumored to be on his way out. Leonardo, who returned to the post in the summer of 2019 after previously working for PSG under Qatari ownership since 2011, was dismissed of his duties last month.
Former Lille and Monaco manager Luis Campos has subsequently taken over and is set to fire Pochettino a year before his contract expires. Nice manager Christophe Galtier is the favorite for the job, ahead of ex-Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, Sevilla's Julen Lopetegui, River Plate's Marcelo Gallardo, and Sporting's Ruben Amorim.
According to ESPN, Campos' job in Paris may be due to Mbappe, who did not get along with Leonardo and campaigned for his departure as part of his own contract extension negotiations. Mbappe previously worked with Campos at Monaco and presented his case to the PSG hierarchy.
Campos is known for scouting high talent and negotiating large transfer fees for homegrown players. From 2013 to 2016, the 57-year-old worked at Monaco, where he helped Mbappe's ascent and signed players such as Radamel Falcao, Joao Moutinho, James Rodriguez, Fabinho, Anthony Martial, Ricardo Carvalho, Dimitar Berbatov, Bernardo Silva, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Geoffrey Kondogbia, and Thomas Lemar.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kylian Mbappe did not get along (Image)
Campos joined Lille in 2017 after helping Monaco win the Ligue 1 title and reach the Champions League semi-finals. He was similarly successful in the north of France, selling Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel to Arsenal for large sums, while Lille defeated PSG to win the Ligue 1 title in 2020/21.
PSG has yet to officially announce Pochettino's departure, but he was reportedly notified of the decision on Wednesday morning. Because of the year remaining on his contract, the former Southampton and Tottenham manager is owed a pay-out of between £12-17m (€15-20m).
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