Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique has refused to confirm whether Kylian Mbappe will feature in their Champions League last-16 second leg clash with Real Sociedad on Tuesday,
The French star communicated his decision to the club and president Nasser Al-Khelaifi that he will not sign a new contract, with the 25-year-old expected to seal a move to Real Madrid as a free agent this summer.
Luis Enrique has reacted to the news by substituting Mbappe in their last two Ligue 1 matches against Rennes and Monaco when the Parisians were not in winning positions, leading to doubts over whether he would continue to be part of his plans for the rest of the season.
And in his pre-match press conference on Monday, the 53-year-old boss refused to offer any guarantees over his selection choices.
Luis Enrique, who does not speak French yet, revealed that his translator did not understand a question about Mbappe‘s involvement. When another reporter stepped in to translate from French to Spanish, he gave a coy answer on Mbappe‘s chances of featuring from the start: “Maybe yes, maybe no, who knows,” the Spaniard replied.
Asked again about Mbappe‘s attitude towards the game, the former Barcelona coach was in no mood to give an elaborate answer, adding: “The match is so important that there are no more comments [about Mbappe] to make.”
Focus turns to San Sebastian
Returning to his native Spain for the clash, Luis Enrique’s PSG go into the second leg with a decent advantage over Real Sociedad after a 2-0 win in the first leg. But the Asturian insisted he would take nothing for granted ahead of the clash at the Reale Arena.
“It’s a normal match, I think the scenario is very attractive, the city, the competition,” he said. “I’m very excited, it’s a special match and a special training session. I’m looking forward to it.
“All second legs are complicated, even with a better result than this one. It’s a result that can be misleading if you don’t come out prepared, if you come out unprepared you’re plunged into misery and we’ll try to make sure that doesn’t happen.
“We are in an exceptional moment, in terms of results, commitment, I can count on the 23 players who have come with total guarantee.”
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