Posted on December 30, 2021 at 5.30 p.m. by La Rédaction
In 2017, after Neymar, PSG had managed to win the bet for Kylian Mbappé, nabbing him in the nose and beard of other European leaders. At the heart of this operation, Luis Ferrer, former recruiter of the club of the capital, delivered the underside.
After nearly five years of good and loyal service to PSG , Kylian Mbappé seems closer and closer to a departure. The Habs international is out of contract next June and so far he has not extended. Everything suggests that his next destination will be Real Madrid , club which covets Kylian Mbappé for some time now. The end of a cycle started in 2017? That year, the Frenchman was one of the big names recruited by PSG , alongside Neymar . After a fabulous season at AS Monaco , where he emerged as one of the great hopes in Ligue 1 , Kylian Mbappé saw many teams knocking on his door. His recruitment was therefore no easy task, as Luis Ferrer explains. But Antero Henrique , sports director at the time, would have been an indispensable weapon.
“At the time, the potential of the young man was already evident”
“PSG have given everything. Antero was a teacher in this field. Mbappé was the number one target. And Neymar had already arrived. At the time, the potential of the young man was already evident, even if he was only 17 years old, and this decision was considered as a strategic move “first clarified the former recruiter of PSG in an interview for AS. Subsequently, Luis Ferrer reported on the progress of the operation to secure the services of Kylian Mbappé . Unai Emery would have played an essential role in the case in particular: “It was a long job, almost a year. And Unai Emery was essential to bring him in, he made a gesture and said to him: “With me you are going to play as a starter. Anyway, you are my player”. And it's fantastic to be able to convince someone when you don't have the same tools as, for example, Real Madrid. And on top of that there was a difficulty, Neymar's 222 million had made the deal not possible at that time, but a year later. Today, there is no coach in the world who promises you a starting place. And he did, and it was vital to our work. We were talking about a 17-year-old kid and a PSG full of stars. “
Luis Ferrer then revealed that he had a very special mission with Kylian Mbappé : “Here in France, it has already been said, yes, it has always been my priority to be close to him, to keep track, this is the mandate I was given. I had carte blanche in the matter. I was even in Ibiza with him right after he signed it, well, after he signed it and remained on loan in Monaco. He had to be taken care of. It was then that I realized he would never be the Kylian I had known a few months before. At 18, everyone knew him on the island. And it hadn't even crossed my mind. Fortunately, Kylian Mbappé could count on his entourage who helped and advised him wonderfully according to the former member of PSG : “Mbappé has a lot of help. His father is a footballer and his mother was also a sportswoman. And it is very well advised. And having this closeness is very important for children who are just starting out. I think he's made the right choice so far in his career. “
” I told him: 'Stay here, Paris is your city, the World Cup is close at hand, succeed first here, you always have time to leave … ” “
The case was far from easy to complete, especially because of the presence of Real Madrid Zinedine Zidane. But to 's surpriseLuis Ferrer , Kylian Mbappé ended up signing for PSG : “Did I ever think that the operation was lost? Several times … Because behind him was Madrid, it was his big dream. And Zidane's Madrid. When Madrid crosses your path in an operation of this type, it is rare that he leaves … But he did. “And to tip the scales in his favor, PSG had a trump card up his sleeve to convince the then 17-year-old player as revealed by Luis Ferrer :” As he was young. I told him: “Stay here, Paris is your city, the World Cup is close at hand, succeed first here, you always have time to leave …”. I said to him: “Do three or four years here and then go to Madrid. You have time. It is better to come through an even bigger door”. That was my argument … “Now, Kylian Mbappé seems to be getting dangerously close to a departure.