PSG manager jokes Mbappé spent ‘too long’ at World Cup

Paris Saint-Germain is fresh off winning yet another Ligue 1 title. Neymar says he’s staying put while rumors of an exit to Real Madrid continue to swirl. And at only 19 years old, French phenom Kylian Mbappé is fresh off a World Cup championship with France. He was also named the Young Player of the World Cup.

Which brings us to new manager Thomas Tuchel.

Fresh off his stint with Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund, Tuchel takes charge of the Parisian giants. Another Ligue 1 title is all but certain; PSG hope they can make waves in the Champions League as well, however. No matter how much talent they have and how much money they spend, PSG cannot get over the UCL hump. Tuchel hopes to change that, even though he must be patient. Attackers Neymar and Edinson Cavani, along with Mbappé, just spent quite a while in Russia.

Per ESPN’s Jonathan Johnson, he cannot wait to work with all of them.

“We have extraordinary attackers with Kylian, Edinson and Neymar. I cannot wait to work with these special players. … We must be patient, though, they all spent too long at the World Cup!”

PSG are coming off a friendly Saturday morning against Bayern, one in which Tuchel saw his inexperienced side fall 3-1. The new boss isn’t discouraged, though. Not by a long shot.

“I am very proud of what we did here, I really did not know what to expect. … Our only experienced players were Adrien [Rabiot], Lassana [Diarra], Christopher [Nkunku] and Gianluigi [Buffon] — the others had never played at this level.”

PSG have won five of the previous six Ligue 1 titles. Tuchel and company will probably make it six out of seven this season. But with the likes of Mbappé, Cavani and Neymar at his disposal, will they finally reach new heights?