Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi has revealed the door will always be open for Kylian Mbappe to one day return to the club.
Despite the pair having, at times, a much strained relationship, both arrived in Sardinia for the Globe Soccer Awards cordial and in good spirits.
Mbappe has yet to confirm his next move although it has been widely known for several months now that Real Madrid is to be his next destination.
‘I wish him all the best,’ Al-Khelaifi said.
‘He did amazing for us in seven years and was vice captain. He arrived with us as a teenager and now he is a big man, the best player in the world and I wish him all the best.’
PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi has left the door open for Kylian Mbappe to one day return
Mbappe, the Best Men’s Player at the Globe Soccer Awards, is expected to join Real Madrid
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While not detailing the nature of their conversations in the grounds of the famous Hotel Cala di Volpe, Al-Khelaifi is keen to keep an open door.
‘Who knows? Maybe one day he comes back to France,’ he added.
‘I know his ambition, he wants to change, try another league and get a new experience but he’s an amazing boy and he had an amazing time in Paris.
‘Like family you have complaints, it’s normal, but I think he really deserves only good things and I wish him all the best.’
Mbappe was left out of PSG’s pre-season squad and this final season in Paris has been fraught and full of controversies.
Yet, Mbappe is now philosophical about how things played out and is keen to pay tribute to a club that helped transform him into a superstar.
‘Here I see some great players, great manager and a great president. It is always an honour for me to be here with you guys,’ Mbappe said after being crowned Europe’s Best Player.
‘Another trophy and it’s always a pleasure. I would like to say thank you to my club, my president, thank you for everything to this amazing club, the best fans in the world, a big honour to play for this club and it was an amazing season.
Al-Khelaifi hailed Mbappe as ‘amazing’ and both were cordial and in good spirits in Sardinia
Mbappe won the Coupe de France in his final match for Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday
‘We won many trophies and thank you to my team-mates, to everyone that helped me. It’s part of the journey and I want to work hard to keep my name in the history of football.’
Mbappe won the Coupe de France in his final match for the club on Saturday and completed his final season at the club with 44 goals in 48 appearances across all competitions.
One thing he never managed to achieve was the Champions League, with PSG narrowly missing out on a spot in this weekend’s final at Wembley, losing to Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals.
But for Al-Khelaifi, the Champions League, he claims, is no longer the obsession it once was for the Parisian giants.
‘Today one of the journalists asked me who will be your star? I said the team, the collective team. That’s our strategy,’ he said of PSG’s eco-system post-Mbappe.
‘It’s a big change but it’s also down to the coach. Luis Enrique is the boss and I trust him. He’s doing an amazing job with us.
‘Even if we had lost against Newcastle and we got knocked out of the Champions League I would have said exactly the same.
‘I know we are on the right track. Even next year, the objective is to do the best to keep building the team. When we lose that’s football.’
