“With me it’s hard, without less it’s impossible“. You have to believe that impossible is not Qatari. After recalling him in June 2019, after a first successful stint between 2011 and 2013, the Parisian management decided to part with its sporting director, Leonardo. Information d first announced by France Blue Paris from the evening of the big 5-0 victory against Metz, at the end of the 38th day. Then confirmed a second time, the Brazilian was told to leave the club on June 1, due to views”divergent” on the sports policy to be carried out.
A departure that seemed inevitable, going hand in hand with PSG’s desire to start a “revolution”, a sine qua non condition for extending Kylian Mbappé. Leonardo, who had conceded “have made mistakes“, thought he could stay in his post. But the management of the club decided otherwise, entrusting the destiny of PSG to Luis Campos, new”sports adviser to the president“Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
Good hits and big misses
When we take stock of Leonardo’s second term, not everything is to be thrown away. Paris Saint-Germain finally broke the glass ceiling by reaching the Champions League final in 2020 and then the semi-finals the following year. In a period tormented by the health crisis, the Brazilian made good moves on the transfer window. To his credit, the signings of Keylor Navas, Gigio Donnarumma, Nuno Mendes, Hachraf Hakimi and Danilo Pereira.
But Leonardo also missed in the large widths on certain files. We necessarily think of Mauro Icardi, who will have deceived during his first six months, before sinking into an incredible lethargy, between heart problems and recurring injuries. We can add Georginio Wijnaldum, Rafinha, Florenzi or Ander Herrera. Or the incredible extension of Layvin Kurzawa.
Chronic inability to sell
Beyond the failures in recruitment, Leonardo is criticized for his inability to separate from the “balls” of the workforce. He himself admitted that he was “less good to sell“.”But to sell well, you have to buy well and not pay exorbitant wages, and that was the case with some elements that arrived before Leo’s return.”nuance a player agent, to France Blue Paris.
This weakness ended by weighing on the balance sheet of the Brazilian. Without forgetting its management, to say the least, of young people from the training center or even the women’s section. A lot of grievances for a single man or the downside for an omnipotent leader, wishing to manage everything without delegating.
Lack of authority over the players, the mismanaged Mbappé file?
Finally, Leonardo also failed in his management of the locker room and certain stars. However, he did his best, trying to break the republic of players, for the benefit of the collective. But his attempts ended in failure. There is in particular the real-false start of Neymar, in 2019. The ex-midfielder, supposed to put things in order in the locker room, saw his authority quickly undermined. We think of the birthdays of Angel Di Maria, Edinson Cavani and Mauro Icardi, a few days after the defeat against Dortmund in the Champions League, which marked a break in the relationship between the players and their sporting director.
The Mbappé file also questions. Despite regular contacts with his clan, “Leo” never managed to pull the right lever to accelerate the extension of the Kid de Bondy. Extension managed and taken in hand by Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, well supported by a triumvirate Luis Campos, Luis Ferrer and Antero Henrique.