Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique has played down the significance of facing former star Kylian Mbappé as his side prepares to meet Real Madrid in Wednesday’s Club World Cup semi-final at MetLife Stadium, Softfootball reports.
Mbappé, who left PSG in an unfriendly free transfer last summer to join Madrid following a long-running contract saga, is expected to face a hostile reception from the French club’s travelling support. However, Enrique insisted he is not interested in comparing eras of players ahead of the high-stakes clash.
The Spaniard said in his pre-match press conference, as reported by One Football.
“This is a question about the past, and I’m not here to talk about the past,” “I’m only thinking about the future.”
Mbappé returned to the scoresheet in the quarter-final win over Borussia Dortmund after missing the group stage through illness. His move to Madrid, which infuriated PSG fans, paved the way for Enrique to reshape the squad, focusing on collective structure over star power, a shift that ultimately delivered the club’s first-ever Champions League title.
Enrique acknowledged the added edge of facing Real Madrid but welcomed the challenge:
“Playing against the most successful team in the world is extra motivation,” he said. “It will be a special match, no doubt. But these are the games we want to be involved in—it means we’ve done our job.”
Asked about the prospect of facing Madrid’s marquee full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who also arrived on a free from Liverpool, Enrique praised his right-back Achraf Hakimi but resisted making comparisons.
“I’m not a fan of comparing players because all of them are top quality at this level,” he said. “But Hakimi is without a doubt one of the best right-backs I’ve ever trained or seen.”
Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso did not attend media duties due to the team’s delayed arrival. The winner of Wednesday’s semi-final will face Chelsea in Sunday’s final after their 2-0 win over Fluminense, with João Pedro scoring both goals.
As Softfootball had earlier reported, Mbappe faced backlash following a photoshopped image shared on his Instagram handle on Tuesday. The Real Madrid forward, who recently returned to action in the FIFA Club World Cup, shared a celebratory photo on Instagram after scoring a spectacular bicycle kick against Borussia Dortmund.
However, fans quickly noticed that the image appeared to be poorly photoshopped to include more supporters in the stadium. The post referenced the illness that had kept the French star sidelined during the group stage. But it wasn’t the goal that caught the internet’s attention; it was the crowd.
As the hot issue is still widely on the ground, Mbappe will be seeking to regain his followership as he battles his former side on Wednesday.
