Mauricio Pochettino, coach of Paris Saint Germain, wished this Thursday that Kylian Mbappe “is his whole career” in his current team and said that he does not believe that “such an important decision” about his future will pass “through a tie” like the one he will face in the Champions League round of 16 against Real Madrid, while predicting that Lionel Messi will give “his best version” in the decisive stretch of the season. “Hopefully Mbappe spends his entire career at Paris Saint Germain. That would be a very good sign for us and for the club. For me, he is a player who is in the top five in the world without a doubt,” he explained in an interview. to ‘El Larguero’ on ‘Cadena Ser’, in which he also included Karim Benzema, the Real Madrid attacker, among those five.
Mbappe’s future is up in the air. At the end of this course, the contract with Paris Saint Germain ends. Real Madrid intends it. “I think that such an important decision I don’t think goes through a game or a tie. He is an intelligent, mature boy, with a tremendous capacity for analysis, knowing what he wants for his career and his future, with people around him who They advise in the best way. I see him calm, focused on doing the best possible for PSG and, as he said and we must respect him, he will make a decision after the tie is over”, continued the Argentine coach.
“It is a discovery (Mbappe). He is an incredible boy. He is a boy with incredible empathy and charisma. The language has also helped, because he speaks perfectly English and Spanish and that also gives a little more closeness, especially because At the beginning it was also difficult for me to relate through French. And that gave us a special closeness. He is a boy with exceptional charisma, who has incredible energy. It is fortunate to be able to work at this time with him and other great players, meet him within what is the area where superhero armor is taken off and find a boy with maturity and charisma, for the values that govern him in daily life, not only in football”, he highlighted.
He also spoke about Lionel Messi: “He’s a genius. He’s something out of the ordinary. They’re one of those players who comes out every hundred years in football and everything he’s contributed to the team has been incredible. Beyond the fact that he hasn’t had the lucky to be benefited by the circumstances since he arrived, he always maintained his calm, knowing how to be, and he is at his peak, at his best moment. He is at a moment of incredible maturity. He reaches this decisive stage at his best moment. I have no doubt that he will show his best version”. “His gene is to compete, what he loves most is to compete. He is a competitive animal who wants to win everything, in training, competing… I have no doubt that he wants to win and wants to win, because it is in his genes. He is and to their DNA”, added Pochettino, who pointed out that Neymar “Maybe yes, maybe not” arrive at next Tuesday’s Champions League match against Real Madrid, although he did say that he sees him “close to returning to the group and the team” and that, if he is ready, he could start in that match.
Sergio Ramos is also in doubt. “He has suffered some relapses when it seemed that he could have a good period of competition. We will see if he can make it and, if he cannot be for this match on Tuesday, to see if he can make it to the second leg. He is an important player, who He is passing on the experience he has gained and we hope he can help the team and be there, especially because he is a player who lives football with tremendous passion, who always works to the fullest and it would be good for him to be able to recover and have a period good to be competing,” he declared.
And at Real Madrid Karim Benzema is doubtful. “Real Madrid by history and that internal force that it has as a club after having won 13 European Cups is a rival that must always be respected, beyond the players that are on the field. Real Madrid is a superior force to a player, but speaking of Benzema we are talking about an extraordinary player, one of the best strikers in the world. It is not the same when Benzema is there or when he is not”, he stated.
Pochettino competes at Paris Saint Germain against criticism. “Looking back, the coach of Paris Saint Germain is a perfect target for everyone. When I look at Tuchel, Emery or Ancelotti (who also passed through the same bench), in the end he is the weakest part. Always, the coaches are the easiest part to criticize or sometimes bear the frustration of some results”, valued the coach, who considered that Zinedine Zidane is “a great coach” who “can train any team in the world”, when asked about the Rumors that point to him as his possible replacement at PSG.
