Florentino Pérez: "This is not my Mbappé, they have confused him"

"The pressure that has affected him the most is politics, he has had to go through it badly"

MADRID, 16 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, explained what happened with the frustrated signing of Kylian Mbappé, who was subjected to political and sports "pressure" from Paris and Qatar to end up changing his mind on a signing that "was very long".

"PSG, neither Chelsea nor City is not my enemy. They are all friends, we are very sporty and we get along with everyone. I have not fought with PSG," he said this Wednesday night in an interview with 'El Chiringuito de Jugones', collected by Europa Press.

The president of the white box referred in this way and in the first place to the signing of Aurélien Tchouaméni. "Tchouaméni said that Mbappé told him if he wanted to go to PSG and he told him no, and Mbappé understood him perfectly. That happens many times," he said, also pointing to the "problem" of those known as club-states.

However, one of the great focuses of the interview was what happened with Mbappé, a signing that "was very long" since last year and in which, in the last 15 days with the confirmation a month ago, the player changed fruit of the pressures. "He didn't betray Florentino. Mbappé conveyed to the whole world his desire to play for Madrid, it was his childhood dream and it's true," he said.

"We wanted to do it in August, it wasn't possible, they didn't let him, and he kept saying he could wait. He talked to them and told them he wanted to leave. It took a long time, they had to wait a year, and 15 days before he changed the situation due to political and also economic pressure, I imagine. He entered as if in a blockade and had to leave for what he thought was easier. We saw that he changed, "he explained.

Florentino confessed that the French player was not the same those days, mainly as a result of political pressure. "An important piece of information is also when he did not want to do a joint sponsorship act with all his teammates from the national team. Soccer is a collective sport, they had offered him not only to be the leader of a team, but of the management of the club. This did not It's not the Mbappé that I wanted either," he said.

"This is another Mbappé, who as a result of the pressure has had to change his dream. He is very young. The President of the Republic calls him and tells him 'don't go', that it makes no sense for the president to call him. The pressure It has made him change, it's not easy. He hasn't come because he didn't want to, but if Qatar, if two states, politicians, if they all pressure you, you block yourself, "he added.

"His signing has taken a long time and he has changed his mind. The pressure that has affected him the most is politics. He has had a hard time. Here it does not fit in my head that the King of Spain called... Presidents of the Republic, the mayor of Paris, and you go to Qatar and they offer you a series of things that drive you crazy, a disproportionate influence on the sports project for a player, that make him block, "he insisted.

The president of Madrid also referred to the feelings of the white fan and the possibility that the PSG striker will play in the Spanish team in the future. "The Mbappé that was going to come is not the one that I found. If that is the case, I prefer that he stays at PSG, the Mbappé that I knew is the one from the dream. This Mbappé is not my Mbappé, if he changes, life goes a thousand times ", said.

"This Mbappé who refuses to do an act with his national team, I don't love him. That could have been a slip, they confused him, he's young. I have nothing against him, but I believed the dream, that's true No player in the history of Madrid has been above the others. We are not going to make any exceptions," he added.

In addition, Florentino valued the transfer market beyond the Parisian star, like a Haaland who had no place with Benzema. "We have the best center forward in the world and he was incompatible with Haaland. We are not going to bring Haaland to sit on the bench. The new team is doing well, with some reinforcements, with the youngsters," he concluded.