Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique has claimed that his side performs better without Kylian Mbappé, calling the French star’s departure “a shame,” but also a turning point for the team.
Speaking after PSG’s 2-1 win over Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final second leg on Wednesday night, Enrique reflected on the club’s evolution since Mbappé joined Real Madrid last summer.
“I believe I was very bold last season when I said we’d be a better team without Mbappé. I still believe that. The stats are there,” Enrique said, as quoted by @TouchlineX.
The Spanish coach stressed that while losing a player of Mbappé’s caliber was unfortunate, the squad has risen to the challenge.
“Losing Mbappé was unfortunate, but the players took it as a challenge. I would have loved to continue with him, but I’d rather have four players scoring 12 goals each than one scoring 40,” he added.
PSG now heads to the Champions League final, where they will face Inter Milan on May 31 in Munich.