Al Khelaifi: Real Madrid's offer to Mbappe was always better than PSG's

PSG are in the midst of a transformation. MARCA spoke to club president Nasser Al Khelaifi to discuss their latest moves, especially with regard to Mauricio Pochettino and his possible replacement, with Christophe Galtier as the leading candidate.

But Al Khelaifi also took the opportunity to make it clear that Zinedine Zidane was never an option. On Kylian Mbappe's renewal, the PSG president defends his striker and assures that he always knew that the player would stay in Paris.

However, the worst is reserved for LaLiga president Javier Tebas - whom he asks to stop giving lessons, and the European Super League, which he still sees as dead. Al Khelaifi also returns to the terminal night at the Bernabeu.

Can Pochettino's time at the club be considered over?

"We can't talk about that yet, we will do it at the right time, not now."

Is Galtier the favourite and has Zidane ever been an option?

About Zidane I want to say something important, he is a person I liked a lot as a player and I like him as a coach, I love him.

But we have never spoken to him, directly or indirectly, and I respect him a lot and I appreciate him a lot. A lot of things have come out in the press but we have never spoken to him.

Mbappe's decision has been widely criticised in Spain, can you give your side of the story and the reasons for his choice?

I have great respect for Real Madrid as a club, they're a great club, but Kylian has never decided to renew for the money, that's the first thing. Madrid's offer was better than ours. He is our player and he had other clubs in England as well as Madrid, but he chose PSG and we didn't talk to him or his family about money until the last moment. Kylian was above all interested in the project, in football and sport. He is Parisian, he is French, and he wanted to stay here to represent his city and his country, his club, and it is not fair what has been said about him. For them, money is not the most important thing, they want to win and they want a sporting project.

According to Florentino Perez, the player changed his mind ten days before. When did you think Kylian was going to renew?

I don't know what Madrid says, whether it was days or months ago. I know 18 months ago that Mbappe wanted to stay. I heard that Madrid said he wanted to play for Madrid, but it wasn't true. We are talking now about Madrid's latest offer, but in the summer they made an offer of 170 and 180 million. That means that Madrid's offer, plus his salary, was already better than ours, as it is now. I turned down 180 and they told me I was crazy, people I trusted, because he could leave for free, but I did it because I was sure Kylian was going to stay because I know him and his family well, I know what he wants. Kylian is very serious, professional, and he wants to play and win, he doesn't care about money. I understand that Madrid are disappointed, but it's not fair to say that about Mbappe.

The European Super League is still alive according to the three founders: Real Madrid, Juve and Barcelona. Do you agree?

For me it is already dead. But it's also strange. Madrid have won the Champions League and deservedly so, but on the one hand they want to win it and on the other hand they don't want to play it. If you're not happy you don't need to play it. It's the best competition in the world and I don't even know why the Spanish fans are also against this competition, but for me the Super League is dead.

Are you worried about Tebas' lawsuit in the French courts and in Europe?

Who is Tebas? I don't know that person. Our style is not to interfere in the affairs of other clubs, other leagues or federations, it is not our style. But I am not going to accept that others give us lessons. I don't care what he says, the truth is, we have been talking about this for years. We have a football project to build and we are going to go ahead. We're not worried about everything that comes out in the media, because we can't waste our time with everything that comes out.

Could Mbappe's new contract jeopardise PSG's Financial Fair Play?

Every year, every summer, it's the same thing. He says we don't respect the Fair Play, we don't respect the others? We know what we can do, who we can sign, we know better than him what we can do and nobody has to tell us what to do. We don't have to be told by someone from outside what we can or cannot do. If we do it, it's because we can. Look at the case of Messi. It was the same, they said it was financially impossible and we have made money with Messi. He has no idea and he should focus on his league because LaLiga is a bit dead."

Does the arrival of Luis Campos as football advisor have anything to do with Mbappe's renewal?

I also want to make it clear that Mbappe has never interfered in sporting decisions, not about the coach, the players or anything else. What he wants is to win and it's true that he has given his opinion on the project because he wants to win, but he doesn't go into that afterwards. What he wants is just to play. If he tells us something it's because he thinks it's the best thing for the club, but he never gets involved in the planning."

What can Luis Campos contribute?

He has a clear objective, different from other objectives in the market. Young people, talented, involved and with a winning mentality and people who want to die for this badge. We want to be stronger collectively, that the players play more for each other, play as a team and with the club above all. The club will be the most important thing."

Is Neymar part of the new project?

We can't talk about these issues in the media, some will come and some will go, but these are private negotiations.

How did you experience Madrid's comeback at the Bernabeu?

Winning the Champions League is difficult and we can't say we're going to win it for sure. But there is a foul that changes the whole match. We had controlled the whole tie until 60 or 70 minutes in. It's clear that experience is a degree, for sure, and we have to be mentally strong as a big club, with more confidence, we are a big club, because these things can happen. But we have to be more solid and together and it wasn't the case against Madrid in the end, that's the truth.

The new padel circuit is another of his objectives...

If we have entered it is because we are sure. Premier Padel is an opportunity for everyone, for the players, the sport, the Federation, the media, to develop this sport worldwide as it deserves.

We don't want anything to be closed, like the Super League, it's an open competition for the players, we don't close the door to anyone. The conflict is the same as the Super League.

Does it bother you that PSG is continually referred to in Spain as a State club?

In Spain, the state supports some clubs more than us. A magnificent stadium in the middle of the city without paying anything? We pay for the stadium, for the training centre, and they support them more. It's not fair. We pay for the stadium, for the training centre, for everything.

How important is the future Cite Sportif in Poissy?

It is the most important thing for us. We are going to build the best Sports City in the world to welcome and find the future Mbappe and to welcome the best players in the Paris region and in France. That is our objective.