If Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique thought the theme of his conferences would change without Kylian Mbappé, he was mistaken.
The long-running saga of Mbappé’s transfer to Real Madrid from PSG finally ended at the beginning of June when the French forward joined the LaLiga side.
But, as he prepares for PSG to begin their Ligue 1 title defence this weekend, Enrique appeared annoyed at a Spanish reporter asking about Mbappé scoring on his Real Madrid debut in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday.
The Spanish manager vigorously shook his head and made raspberry sounds, seemingly out of frustration, when asked for his opinion on Mbappé’s performance and how his club will move on without him.
“Spaniards are really maddening, no? My God … my God! You’re still here?” Enrique said. “Do you live here [in Paris] or what? Did you enjoy the Olympics? Good.”
Despite not expecting the question, Enrique eventually provided an answer.
“I don’t have anything to hide. I’ve always liked Kylian,” Enrique said. “He’s an exceptional and unique player and person. I very much enjoyed last season with him and his brother Ethan, so hello to him as well. I wish him the best wherever he goes, and that any tournaments with Madrid, that they lose against us.”
PSG, who travel to Le Havre on Friday, will now need to find goals elsewhere after Mbappé went out on a high with his best-ever season at the club, netting 44 times in 48 games. But Enrique said he is looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.
“If someone else scores 40 goals, that would be great,” he said.
“But based on my experience, it is better to have four players scoring 12 — that would make 48, which is more than 40. I think it’s a fascinating challenge. It’s a challenge to show that football is a collective sport.”
Mbappé scored Madrid’s second goal in their 2-0 success against Atalanta in a meeting between the winners of last season’s Champions League and Europa League in Warsaw.
Information from Reuters contributed to this report.