Emmanuel Petit on Euro 2024, Real Madrid, France: “I’m happy Mbappé left PSG”

It’s so hot in Paris that Petit’s locks are tied up neatly at the back of his head. The sun is already pounding and we’re still at the time of day where the whirs and clunks of cafeteria coffee machines are the salient noises from the streets of Europe.

Nevertheless, not a bead of sweat from Petit. But I haven’t started asking any questions yet.

“No, I’ve not been impressed”, he opens as we talk about how France have performed at the Euros, “but I’m not surprised. It’s been like this for 10 years now. I’m very surprised that here in France, we still have the same fight in the studios about how the national team is playing. We should play much better in attack given the quality and options that Deschamps has in this team.”

There are plenty of teams that have failed to excite in a group stage of a tournament where at best, three of the four teams can go through. The jeopardy, Petit says, isn’t the same when you’re “not playing for your life” and that there is clearly “a different approach” from players and managers” although it doesn’t ease his thoughts on Deschamps.

“I’m frustrated, I’m disillusioned, but I’m not surprised at all. And to be honest, I’m not worried. It’s been like this for ages, with Didier Deschamps.”

‘For so long I was so tired of it all, every single week’

We move on, still no sweat, despite the climbing sun in the sky. Just a huge, huge smile. That’s because I’ve asked if he’s happy Mbappé has left PSG, and to be honest, there was no need for him to shout yes!, but he did so anyway.

“I am happy because of the soap opera that we had every single week. Is he gonna leave? Is he gonna come? What’s going on between PSG and Mbappé? Did he have a nice breakfast this morning? Did he have a nice poo-poo after that?

Then there’s a pause. Petit puts his head in hands to rest as a runner crashes to the ground after the instant jubilation of celebration subsides, “but for so long I was so tired of it all, every single week. You open the newspapers, you go on the internet and all of a sudden, oh, something’s happened.”

He lifts his head out of the palms of his hands: “I mean, it’s been like this for years, every single six months. Is he going to sign a contract? Is he going to stay? Come on…”

‘The fans and the press are waiting for him’

The last time we spoke, back in February, Petit told AS that Mbappé “could be a problem”. I asked him whether or not he had changed his mind on this assertion. While he didn’t repeat the specific words, his tone of voice was immediately lowered: Petit knew where he was pointing his utterance.

“I don’t know if he’s going to be a problem, but he knows exactly where he’s going: the best club in the world, one that has won the Champions League and LaLiga without him in a dressing room [that] is living perfectly. There are big egos but the team comes first all the time, because Madrid is more important than every single player, even if you’re a golden ball winner. At Madrid, it doesn’t matter how important you are”, he adds.

A warning: “Mbappé knows that, he’s intelligent, so he will try to adapt himself as soon as possible with his new teammates in terms of introducing himself on the pitch. And he knows perfectly as well that the fans and the press are waiting for him. They won’t give him any time or any excuses. "

It’s now time for the Madrid newspapers to be filled with Mbappé-mania, and the fans in the Spanish capital have waited a long, long time for this deal to finally come to fruition, even leading some to just wish it was all over before it was concluded.

“I think we have the same situation, at Madrid and PSG. People were tired of all the speculation because it was like the new Netflix series”.

Vinicius as a striker ‘would be hard to understand’

Questions have been raised as to where Mbappé will fit in on the pitch, with some suspecting that Vinicius Jr could even find himself playing down the middle, but Petit, while he admits that he’s unsure, isn’t convinced of Kylian having it all his own way: “Vini Jr has been magnificent for Madrid, just like Rodrygo, just like Bellingham. So the only position free at the moment with Madrid is a striker.”

“I have no idea what Ancelotti wants to do. But I’m sure that he won’t take Vinicius off the left wing and put him as a striker. I don’t believe that will happen. That would be something that would be hard to understand.”

“I think Mbappé is going to start as a striker”, he guesses before admitting, “maybe I’m wrong, but this is it for me, if you don’t want to have any trouble with your players, especially from someone that just comes to the dressing room. I mean, Vini doesn’t suffer from the comparison with Mbappé, he’s a huge player for Madrid. I don’t think Ancelotti will give Mbappé the favour of switching him, you know, on behalf of Vinicius, and he knows that. It’s a big, big, big challenge going to Madrid. Yeah, definitely.”

Petit: ‘I feel sorry for Xavi’

There is no yin without yang so we move on to talk about Barcelona, who have a new manager in Hansi Flick and a shiny generation of youngsters coming through. Despite the economic problems, Petit thinks that “the future of the club is the young stars”.

After name checking both Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí as standouts, Petit warns that “there are a few players becoming very old, starting with Lewandowski with a huge, huge wages” before admitted that there are “no guarantees” of who the club could bring in.

On the outgoing manager, Petit admitted to feeling “sorry” for Xavi “because he was such a great player” as well as “such a legend for Barcelona. It’s a pity sometimes to see such a legend like this. He’s so dedicated to Barcelona. I think he was so frustrated, so so unhappy with what’s going on inside the club. I feel sorry for him.”

Xavi won both Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 with Spain, and Petit believes that they might be in line for another trophy. Spain are “surprisingly” his favourites, something that he “didn’t see coming”.

“I thought that they’re gonna play the same way, tiki-taka without scoring any goals. But now with Yamal, Nico Williams on the left flank, they have very, very dangerous weapons on the wings. They play more directly and they still have the possession of the ball. The quality of expression has been very, very good from Spain. So for me, Spain has impressed me the most during this campaign so far”.

The European summer heat doesn’t let up, and neither does the football, but Emmanuel Petit is always happy to talk about it. No sweat.

Interview conducted with Bet365.