PSG Boss Mauricio Pochettino Reveals the Only Player Who Knew Mbappe Would Stay at Club

PSG Boss Mauricio Pochettino Reveals the Only Player Who Knew Mbappe Would Stay at Club

Martin Moses
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:03 PM
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  • Mauricio Pochettino has disclosed that it was only Achraf Hakimi who know about Kylian Mbappe’s decision to extend his contract with PSG.
  • The duo have a special bond both on and off the pitch and have been seen together in different destinations, most recently at a restaurant in Madrid
  • Mbappe’s new deal will now see him stay in Paris for three more years with the superstar himself not ruling out a future move to Real Madrid

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that he was in the dark over Kylian Mbappe’s decision to remain at the club.

Pochettino has explained that only Achraf Hakimi knew what decision Mbappe had made after a long battle of his signature between Real Madrid and PSG.

Mauricio Pochettino, Kylian Mbappe, Achraf Hakimi, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappe celebrates his goal with Achraf Hakimi during the Ligue 1 match between Montpellier and Paris Saint Germain. Photo by John Berry.
Source: Getty Images

It had been widely expected that Mbappe will join Real Madrid on a free transfer. The 23-year-old then made a shock u-turn to sign one of the biggest deals in football’s history that will see him become the best-paid player in the world.

It was a tightly-kept secret with only Hakimi being in the know of the highly-awaited decision. The two have become the best of friends since Hakimi joined from Inter Milan.

Sportskeeda reports that Pochettino and the rest of the squad knew only half an hour before the official announcement.

I was not surprised by Mbappe’s decision. We trusted that he had not made the decision and that it was going to be at the last moment. Officially, I found out about the renewal of Mbappe half an hour before. Even being close to him we didn’t know his final decision.

Mbappe penned a three-year contract extension with the French champions. He led PSG to win the Ligue One trophy, scoring 28 goals, and getting 17 assists in the process.

Ligue 1 President slams Javier Tebas and Calls Attacks on Mbappe and PSG Unacceptable

Sports Brief earlier reported that Kylian Mbappe’s decision to remain with Paris Saint-Germain had generated serious enmity between authorities in the French Ligue 1 and Spanish La Liga.

The 23-year-old World Cup winner had been touted to join Real Madrid but had a change of heart and re-signed with PSG which infuriated La Liga Present Javier Tebas.

The La Liga Boss had described Mbappe’s new PSG deal as an insult to football and threatened to report the French club to UEFA, tax authorities in France and the European Union.

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Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)