Luis Enrique has shown this Friday his hope that PSG and Kylian Mbappé reach an agreement so that the striker can play this season. The new coach of the Parisian team, which begins the season in a difficult context, has said that Ousmane Dembelé will not line up tomorrow against Lorient because he "is not a PSG player yet." "He is 99% Lo but there is still a fringe to go and he will not be able to play, unfortunately," added the Asturian coach.
It was evident that Luis Enrique, given the convulsive circumstances that PSG is experiencing, had difficult questions awaiting him at the press conference prior to the first game, but he was prepared and assured that he was "super motivated" to start the competition and satisfy the fans. He always used Spanish to express himself and was assisted by an interpreter.
The obligatory question about Mbappé, who is for sale, condemned to a kind of internal exile and has disappeared from promotional photos and videos, started the dialogue with journalists. Luis Enrique recalled that the player and the club already had a dispute in the past but it was resolved positively. "Well, I hope that, as it happened in the past, it happens again and that the club and the player reach an agreement - he continued -. That's what I would like too".
The Spanish coach had carefully studied his response to adapt it to that of the Qatari owners, so he recalled what the president, Naser al Jelaifi, said and stressed that "the club's philosophy is very clear. The club is above of players, of trainers, of sports directors. It is something that I share one hundred percent". There were no more comments on the Mbappé subject because he wanted to avoid straying from the official script.
Regarding the future of Neymar and Verrati, to whom the club has shown the exit door, he was hermetic when asked if it had been his decision not to count on them. "I have as a rule to keep conversations with the players private," he said. They say things, but the facts will say more. The decisions I make will clearly mark what my idea is." Neymar will not play because he is officially recovering from a viral infection.
Luis Enrique considered that PSG has to play "total football" and apply itself to the maximum in all competitions. "I don't want a different team in the League, a team that waits for ten or fifteen minutes of frenzy," he said, facing the frequent accusation in recent years that the lowest intensity in the French league then takes its toll on PSG in the Champions. "I want 95, 100, 110 minutes of total football, to attack, to press, to show our fans that we are prepared and that we are professionals and that we want to give joy," he emphasized.
Regarding Dembelé, who had a medical visit yesterday, it was clear that he will not be able to play against Lorient. "As of today he is still not a PSG player -he pointed out-. There are still some fringes, I don't know exactly in which section, but no, he won't be tomorrow. He is still not a one hundred percent PSG player. 99% yes, Not a hundred, unfortunately.
