Mbaye: Things in Paris were not always as I wanted, I put too much pressure on myself

Mbaye left Paris Saint-Germain this summer after completing his first World Cup campaign with Senegal. He hoped to receive more playing time, but Enrique could not guarantee that. Last season, the 18-year-old winger still made 31 appearances in all competitions, playing 1,242 minutes and contributing 3 goals and 2 assists. For a player of such a young age, that amount of playing time was already uncommon. He eventually moved to Aston Villa for a fee of around 55 million euros. It is believed that this interview on the Cheikh Footstyle channel was recorded before his transfer, and the Senegal international said that he sometimes put unnecessary pressure on himself.

“At Paris Saint-Germain, things did not always develop the way I wanted. I put pressure on myself that I should not have. I would look at those big-name players, the Ballon d'Or winner (Dembélé), Désiré (Doué), Bradley (Barcola), Gonçalo (Ramos)…… and then I would think: ‘I have to do better than them.’ But that kind of pressure should not exist. You just need to play your own game. The more you train and play with them, the more you learn, because they are all more experienced and very talented players,” Mbaye said.