Angel Di Maria ‘surprised’ former club Paris Saint-Germain handed ‘all the power’ to Kylian Mbappe
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Published 18/02/2023 at 16:05 GMT
Former Paris Sant-Germain forward Angel Di Maria has questioned the club’s decision to hand superstar striker Kylian Mbappe “all the power” when the 24-year-old signed a new contract at Parc des Princes. “They made him stay when he could have left and gave him all the power to be him and no one else,” he said. “They gave him all that power with the best in history [Messi] next to him.”
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Angel Di Maria was surprised Paris Sant-Germain handed “all the power” to Kylian Mbappe when the striker signed a new deal at the club.
The 24-year-old French forward signed a three-year deal at the club in May, worth a reported £4 million a month, in addition to a £100 million signing-on fee.
Within the contract, it has also been reported that Mbappe has a certain level of authority and power, such as a voice when picking the team, and hiring and firing managers.
Di Maria, who played for PSG for seven years from 2015 to 2022, has expressed his surprise at the club's decision to give Mbappe such a high level of authority, especially when playing alongside a player like Lionel Messi.
“I think France in general have given Mbappe a lot of responsibility,” Di Maria, who now plays for Juventus, told ESPN Argentina “The people, the president, PSG.
“They made him stay when he could have left and gave him all the power to be him and no one else.
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PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 26: Kylian Mbappe of PSG celebrates his second goal with Angel Di Maria (left) during the Ligue 1 Uber Eats match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and AS Saint-Etienne (ASSE) at Parc des Princes stadium on February 26, 2022 in Pa
Image credit: Eurosport
“But there's a big difference, they gave him all that power with the best in history [Messi] next to him.
“I think they gave him all that power and strength because he's French, he was born there, won a World Cup and has an extraordinary career ahead of him. But all that aside, when I was at PSG he was a good boy and I don't think he's changed so much.”
Di Maria played alongside Mbappe for five years, before moving to Italian side Juventus.
Mbappe, who played an influential part in France’s winning 2018 World Cup campaign, is considered one of the best players of his generation and has scored 25 goals in 27 appearances in all competitions this season.
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