Real Madrid vs Paris Saint-Germain is not just another fixture—it’s the kind of match that brings history, drama, and unresolved tension to the pitch. As the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup reaches its final stages, the semi-final clash between the two European giants takes on added intrigue with the first meeting between Kylian Mbappe and PSG since his controversial departure. Yet, in the midst of swirling narratives and lingering emotions, PSG manager Luis Enrique delivered a calm, cryptic four-word message when asked about the reunion.
Mbappe’s name will forever be etched in PSG history. He left the French capital as the club’s all-time top scorer, racking up 256 goals across seven memorable seasons. Yet, his time at PSG came with its fair share of complications—he never lifted the Champions League trophy with the club, and he departed just months before PSG finally won their first European crown.
Behind the scenes, Mbappe’s exit wasn’t exactly clean. A legal battle with the club over $64 million in unpaid wages and bonuses is still ongoing, and while the 26-year-old recently dropped a lawsuit alleging moral harassment and extortion, relations with the Qatari-owned club remain strained at the executive level. Still, as RMC Sport reported, “Kylian Mbappe did not leave angry with anyone and has even kept friends among the Parisian staff… We have never heard anything bad about Kylian since his departure.”
If there’s one relationship that may not have healed, it’s the one between Mbappe and Luis Enrique. The Spanish coach reportedly stopped including Mbappe in his tactical plans during the tail end of the 2023-24 season once it became clear the striker would not be renewing his contract. For the Spanish boss, the message was clear: the team came first.
That belief has paid dividends. the Parisians, without their former talisman, went on to win a historic treble—Ligue 1, the Coupe de France, and the UEFA Champions League—marking their most successful season ever. They arrive at the Club World Cup as Europe’s undisputed representatives, and their 2-0 quarterfinal victory over Bayern Munich, even while playing with nine men, only reinforces their elite status.
What did Luis Enrique say?
With such a loaded narrative heading into Wednesday’s semi-final in New Jersey, Luis Enrique was inevitably asked to comment on the prospect of facing his former star. His reply? A cold, calculated deflection.
“All I can say is that [it’s] in the past; it is behind us now,” he said at the pre-match press conference. “Lots of things make this a special game. This game is important because it is a Club World Cup semi-final. That makes it very interesting, and we need to be ready to remain focused on the match.”
Pressed further about whether PSG is a better team without Mbappe, Enrique stayed on message: “This is a question about the past, and I’m not here to talk about the past. I’m only thinking about the future.”
The cryptic four-word message—“It’s in the past”—was both evasive and telling. Enrique appears eager to shift the spotlight away from Mbappe’s departure and onto PSG’s collective achievements.
