Leonardo left Paris Saint-Germain for the second time back in 2022. In his second stint at sporting director of Les Parisiens, Leonardo has told RMC Sport that he could not stay at the club because of Kylian Mbappé’s (26) contract extension. 

Mbappé’s extension at PSG came at the end of the 2021/22 season. The AS Monaco academy product held the now infamous ‘Mbappé 2025’ jersey alongside Nasser Al-Khelaifi. It felt like a victory for PSG – at the time – and it was celebrated as such. 

However, it precipitated Leonardo’s departure from the club, and according to the sporting director, the deal should never have happened at all. “He should have left in 2021,” argued Leonardo. “He should have left because he wanted to leave. He wanted to leave, leave! That’s how I am. You can’t say, ‘No, please stay’, for me, that can’t happen.”

Leonardo believes Mbappé should have left PSG in 2021

Not only did the contract extension extend Mbappé’s stay at the Parc des Princes for a further two years, it also reportedly gave him extra powers within the club. At the time, it was reported that the deal would see the France captain have a say on recruitment. 

“When he renewed, there were conditions for renewal that I didn’t agree with. I couldn’t stay,” who also evoked the Frenchman’s decision to remain at PSG: “It wasn’t a question of money. He stayed because he is Parisian but he wanted to leave for Real Madrid.” And of course he did, joining the La Liga giants on a free transfer back in the summer of 2024. Since Mbappé and PSG have been locked in a legal dispute over unpaid wages and bonuses.