Paris Saint-Germain won their first Champions League on Saturday and many were focused on Kylian Mbappe in the aftermath. The Real Madrid man left last summer after he did not win the competition during his seven-year enchantment in the Parc des Princes, which was very focused on the past 16 hours.
Mbappe sent a congratulatory message to his former club after their 5-0 win over Inter, and in his press conference after the game PSG head coach Luis Enrique spoke about the French International. According to Diario As, he revealed that he would still have preferred Mbappe in his team.
“We would like him, but his decision was another that we accepted. The coach must let his players believe that it is possible. We have shown that we have stars depending on the team and not in the other direction. We have to think about the club world cup and strengthen ourselves.”
Luis Enrique also spoke about the former Barcelona man Ousmane Dembélé, whom he regards as the clear favorite to win the Ballon d'Or from 2025 after his work to help PSG win a historic Treble.
“I would give the Ballon d'Or to Dembélé for how he defended. That leads a team. He deserves the Ballon d'Or without a doubt. Not only because of the titles or goals. Especially because of how he defended today.”
The race for the 2025 Ballon d'Or will certainly be a close one, accompanied by Barcelona Trio Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Pedri as strong candidates to win the prize – who would do all this in their respective career for the first time. France football will go out the prize later in the year, at which point things will become clearer.