Luis Enrique has insisted Paris Saint-Germain will be a stronger team next season despite losing Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer.

The worst-kept secret in football was finally disclosed on Friday evening, when Kylian Mbappe stated that he would leave Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) following the expiration of his contract this summer. This news came after months of speculation.

However, Paris Saint-Germain has long protected themselves with a legal agreement with the Frenchman that will see them recover a huge loyalty bonus paid to him. With his enormous wages also off the books, PSG are estimated to be saving approximately €225 million. Although it would appear that losing Mbappe on a free transfer would be a huge financial blow, PSG has long protected themselves with this agreement.

PSG is willing to spend a considerable portion of that cash in the playing roster this summer, and Enrique anticipates that the French team will seem to be considerably stronger by the time the new season starts.

“I’m convinced that, regardless of the players who are here, I’m convinced that next season we will be stronger, that’s how I see things,” he said with conviction.

The only thing I can say about Kylian is that he is a brilliant player and a good guy. This is true despite the fact that people often wanted to confront us and the fact that Kylian denied some things. His choice is understandable to me since he has been a member of our club for seven years, he has always given all he had for the club, and the club has given him everything he has ever given. My warmest wishes are with him. It is obvious to everyone that he is heading somewhere, but he has not yet disclosed his destination.

Kylian is not the subject of any of my complaints on any level. The fact that he is a leader has always been shown. PSG will continue to be an outstanding squad in the future. I am really delighted to have experienced this season with Kylian Mbappe, but while we want to acquire players who are eager and who want to identify with the club, I am interested in recruiting guys who are hungry.

Enrique bids farewell to Mbappe / Richard Heathcote/GettyImages

It is anticipated that Mbappe will join Real Madrid this summer, so enhancing the club’s offensive unit, which currently consists of players such as Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham, and Endrick, who is also a former player.

Even if there is an abundance of quality, Enrique anticipates that Mbappe will find a way to distinguish himself.

“Kylian is a great footballer, someone close to you, optimistic, who always has a smile,” Enrique said in his interview. If anything were to happen to him, he would be ready for it. Both as a person and as a football player, I give him a perfect score of ten out of ten.

90 minutes of comprehensionAs prospective replacements for Mbappe, Paris Saint-Germain has contemplated making bids for Marcus Rashford of Manchester United and Victor Osimhen of Napoli. Meanwhile, rumors from other sources have mentioned Luis Diaz of Liverpool and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia of Napoli as some of the players they are interested in acquiring.