Paris Saint-Germain have become “much more of a team” this season following Lionel Messi’s exit, according to French football expert Julien Laurens.
♦ PSG on course to win four trophies this season
♦ Mentality has improved after summer exits
♦ Mbappe has also kept ego in check
WHAT HAPPENED?
PSG take on Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday in the Champions League, aiming for a place in the final and the chance to lift the European Cup for the first time in the club’s history. Luis Enrique’s side have already been crowned Ligue 1 champions again and could win four trophies this season despite losing Lionel Messi in the summer. French football expert Julian Laurens has credited the team’s improvement this season to a change in mentality in and around the squad, and says star forward Kylian Mbappe has “calmed his ego”.
WHAT LAURENS SAID
He told TNT Sports: “I think it’s due to a few things. This is clearly the last season before there’s a big change, in the sense that Mbappe will leave after seven years.
“There’s also the timing; all of that happening at a moment where there’s fewer issues, let’s put it that way, in the dressing room and less egos. So, no more Messi, no more Neymar, no more Veratti, who were the ones, as good as they were on, off the pitch, were a bit like the Dons of the dressing room, if you will.
“I mean, Messi didn’t care that much, but still, it was Messi and now in the dressing room, you’ve got people who just get on with everyone, who tell jokes to everybody in different languages, whereas before you had clans, and it doesn’t seem that there are [any] clans anymore.
“Kylian could have been a disruptive presence in a way sometimes, last season, but even he wants to enjoy it. So even his ego seems to be a bit calmer than it would be in a normal situation considering he’s the best player in the world. So I think all of that put together makes it why this is much more of a team than really we’ve ever seen since the Qataris arrived.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Mbappe has once again played a starring role for PSG, scoring 26 goals in 28 Ligue 1 games and eight times in 10 Champions League appearances. Yet PSG will soon have to find a replacement for the French striker as he is expected to leave the club in the summer and finally complete a move to Real Madrid.
WHAT NEXT FOR PSG
PSG are in Dortmund for the first leg of their semi-final tie and then host the Bundesliga side on Tuesday, May 8 at the Parc des Princes. Luis Enrique’s side have already sealed the league title with three games to spare and will take on Lyon in the Coupe de France showpiece on March 25.