Luis Enrique refuses to comment on Mbappe leaving PSG

Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique on Friday refused to comment on Kylian Mbappe’s decision to leave the club at the end of the season.

A source close to PSG told AFP on Thursday that Mbappe has told the club he intends to leave when his contract expires at the end of the season, a source close to the Ligue 1 champions said on Thursday.

He is widely expected to move to Real Madrid and, according to the same source, has already entered negotiations with the Spanish giants.

“I have no information to give you,” Luis Enrique told reporters at a press conference before the visit to Nantes on Saturday.

“I am going to avoid talking about this subject until the parties involved speak about it,” the Spaniard said.

“Kylian Mbappe has not said anything publicly and neither has the club. I am the coach and when the other parties have spoken, I’ll give my opinion.”

Mbappe, 25, who arrived in Paris from Monaco in 2017, had extended his contract in 2022 until 2024 but last summer declined to activate a clause allowing him to stay another year at PSG.

“The terms of the departure have yet to be fully agreed,” the source said, adding that the club and Mbappe will make an official statement “when everything is finalised in the next few months”. 

It is understood that the departure of the captain of France will be formally announced in a few months’ time.

Mbappe is the top scorer in Ligue 1 this season with 20 goals and scored the opener when PSG beat Real Sociedad 2-0 in the first leg of their last 16 Champions League tie on Wednesday.

He emerged on the global stage when France won the 2018 World Cup in Russia and he scored a hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar but finished on the losing side as Argentina won on penalties.