Even if he left PSG and France in May 2022, Leonardo has always kept a particular eye on the news of the championship and French football. In a long interview with Le Figaro, the 55-year-old Brazilian returned to several current issues: the evolution of the game which he deplores (“I still find that we always see the same thing on the pitch”) , to the rumor of the possible arrival of Zinédine Zidane as coach of Brazil (“Zidane’s future is the French team, not Brazil”) and on the situation of PSG. His favorite club.
The former sporting director of the capital club (2011-2013 then 2019-2022) does not hide during this interview that he is seduced by the new direction taken by the club with Luis Enrique, based on the collective and less focused on signing stars. “Now the project is different, with young people, you are building for the future. These are less glamorous moments, but very important. I was complicit in this idea and I always said that a team is not built around one person. You can’t do that. You can’t do this anymore. The club must always keep its line, its philosophy and not be influenced by a decision. That’s my opinion. I fought for this. »
Asked about the extension of Kylian Mbappé’s contract in 2022, Leonardo confides that he was “against” this decision “from the start”. “I even think that he should have been sold at the end of the 2020-2021 season, when PSG had an offer from Real Madrid and he only had one year of contract left,” tackles the Brazilian. Focusing so much investment on one person was a bit much, in my opinion. My position was clear on this subject. No one should be above everything. Especially not from the institution and the club. How is it manageable afterwards? If you lose a player, it’s annoying, but the club is not going to die. What great institution collapsed by losing a player? None. It may take a while, but you always get back up. I was a player, but nothing can ever be more important than a club. This will always be my position. »
Still close to PSG – he “keeps intimate relationships to [eux]– same” with the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani – the elegant former midfielder returned to the club’s possible departure from the Parc des Princes. “You want to be controversial again? No, I can’t imagine it, but I understand the desire to grow the club with a modern stadium, where you can do more things. I’m no longer at the club. PSG does not want to leave, but wants more space for places, commercial development…”
Concerning the future takeover of Paris FC by the Arnault family, at the head of the world number one luxury company LVMH (owner of Parisien-Aujourd’hui in France), Leonardo confides that he has not been contacted (“if I had been contacted, I wouldn’t tell you”) and assures that it is a “very good thing for France, Ligue 1 and even for PSG”. “If an investor like the Arnault family arrives, it’s great for football. The project is colossal and I hope it will work. »
As for his personal future, he still sees it in the world of football but neither in the role of coach or sports director.
