Mauricio Pochettino claims Kylian Mbappe's 'eyes shone' for Real Madrid throughout his PSG tenure

Mbappe realised his long-standing dream of representing Los Blancos as he completed a free transfer to Santiago Bernabeu in the summer of 2024. Real had failed with multiple big-money bids for Mbappe in the years before he ran down his contract at the Parc des Princes. Pochettino has now admitted that he could see the Frenchman's desire for Real when he was working with him at PSG between 2021 and 2022.

Speaking to El Chiringuito, the current USMNT boss said: "PSG is one of the strongest clubs. I still have a great relationship with the Emir and Nasser (Al-Khelaïfi). You're not going to scare them. It was a difficult time for Kylian. He's always dreamed of going to Real Madrid since he was a child. I knew it. He's a great boy. Going to achieve your dreams sometimes means betraying a given word. 

"I was the coach who saw him as a boy who came to you for advice. It wasn't easy. I could no longer go against my interests, I was the coach of PSG. But I saw a boy whose eyes shone for another club. It's very difficult. I always had the same message with him. I was loyal to my club and my values. In the end, he stayed in Paris, but he managed to achieve his dream."

Pochettino also spoke highly of Mbappe's leadership skills, as he added: "Mbappé is a leader. Now, he’s a certain type of leader. He’s a different kind of leader compared to Neymar, Sergio Ramos, or [Lionel] Messi. Each one has their own leadership qualities. To understand that, you need to know how to position your players behind him."

Mbappe has joined up with the France national team and will be in action for Didier Deschamps' side in their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Iceland on September 5 and 9, respectively.