Nasser turned to Antero Henrique – former sports director, trusted man of the family and the Emir – to turn the operation around. He worked ‘in situ’ in Paris for two weeks.
The situation
The history of the renewal of Mbappe by PSG could not be understood without the figure of Antero Henrique. The club’s former sporting director was key in Kylian’s decision to stay in Paris. Al Khelaïfi turned to him to try an almost impossible, because in PSG itself they saw Mbappé more outside than inside the club. Nasser knew that he was a trusted man of the family, as well as being a trusted man of the Emir of Qatar – he currently works as sports director of the Qatari league, the QSL-. Already on his day, Antero had been in charge of signing Mbappé when he was a member of Monaco, as well as Neymar from Barcelona. Al Khelaïfi hit him squarely. His presence in operation made the family rethink things . Coming from Doha, the new interlocutor settled for two or three weeks in Paris and was doing a decisive job on a day-to-day basis. Mbappé and his family hold him in high esteem and that is why they listened to Al Khelaïfi’s new proposal.
Draft
The economic factor was important but not decisive, since the two offers -Madrid and PSG- were similar . What ended up convincing Kylian was receiving a proposal that had the support of someone as trustworthy as Antero. Instead of placing him as a sports director, Mbappe has him as a kind of soccer executive – someone who knows management and organization -. Precisely what PSG demanded. Within this restructuring, there was talk of drastic changes that affected the sports management, the bench and the squad . Kylian understood that the club project could go the way he considered the best. Thus, in the last week he changed his mind, convinced by his closest relatives. Al Khelaïfi’s definitive strategy of choosing Antero as an adviser could not have been more successful. What happened next is now football history…