A farewell without love Paris has had enough of Kylian Mbappé
March 4, 2024, 11:56 a.m
Super striker Kylian Mbappé was once the symbol of Paris St. Germain’s huge plans. Qatari investors threw money around to win the Champions League. The plan failed, Mbappé is moving on. And the mood is frosty.
After all, Kylian Mbappé’s opinion is still in demand when it comes to major global political issues. Most recently, the still-superstar from Paris St. Germain was invited to the state dinner in the Elysee Palace when French President Emmanuel Macron and Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who also owns PSG as a part-time job, discussed ways out of the Gaza crisis. But even in this context, Mbappé had to put up with pointed comments about his impending departure to Real Madrid.
“So you’re going to cause us trouble again?” Macron said with a grin as he shook hands with Mbappé, and Sheikh Tamim followed up with a bittersweet “good luck.” A lot has broken down in the relationship between the former fan favorite Mbappé and the club that wanted to become Europe’s number one with him.
Mbappé will take part again in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday at Real Sociedad San Sebastian (9 p.m. on DAZN and in the ntv.de live ticker), most likely in the starting line-up. It is clear that the French will reach the quarter-finals after their 2-0 first leg win. The fact that they will still win the premier class with Mbappé seems illusory – they will probably no longer come as close to their dream goal as they did in 2020 under coach Thomas Tuchel (final defeat against FC Bayern).
Since it emerged in mid-February that Mbappé would not be extending his contract and would probably join Real in the summer, the once hot love affair has cooled. Since then, he has played 138 of 270 possible minutes in the league. On Friday, coach Luis Enrique offered him as substitute captain against Monaco (0-0), but replaced him at halftime. The coach said they wanted to get used to playing without Mbappé: “If I want to let him play, I will, and if I don’t want to – same thing.” Mbappé reacted stubbornly as usual and, after the substitution, sat next to his mother under the roof of the stands instead of with his colleagues.
With Mbappé’s departure, the great glamor era at the Paris Qatar branch will end. For Neymar, who moved to Saudi Arabia in 2023, and Mbappé, PSG once paid more than 400 million euros in transfer fees alone. Lionel Messi later joined on a free transfer. From summer onwards, none of the three world stars will be working on the Seine anymore. And Mbappé will be remembered above all for his persistent contractual demands for more and more salary, rather than his incredible 244 goals in 283 competitive games. One would like to know how Mbappé himself thinks about everything. Only: At the moment he only speaks in the Elysee Palace.
2024-03-04 10:56:00
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