Kylian Mbappé during the semi-final of the Coupe de France between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Stade Rennais at the Parc des Princes, in Paris, April 3, 2024. FRANCK FIFE / AFP
A video posted on social networks with the sole caption “THANK YOU”. Kylian Mbappé formalized, Friday May 10, at 8 p.m., his departure from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the end of the season, after seven years spent under the red and blue colors. The news had already leaked in February, but the attacker had never spoken publicly on the subject.
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It was not until the outcome of the Champions League semi-final against Borussia Dortmund and the elimination of the capital club on Tuesday May 7 that he finally spoke in a perfectly orchestrated performance.
“There you go, it’s my last year at PSG, I’m not going to extend [mon contrat] and I will end my adventure [à Paris] in a few weeks “he declares, facing the camera, in a living room, a red t-shirt on his shoulders, without any visible logo.
And to continue, in a sober tone, imbued with a certain gravity: “It’s a lot of emotion, a lot of years where I had the chance and the immense honor to be part of the biggest club in France, one of the best in the world, which allowed me to to arrive here, to have my first experience in a club with a lot of pressure, to grow as a player, (…) to grow as a man too, with all the glory and the mistakes I may have made. »
The Bondynois, at the end of his contract with PSG on June 30, is free to negotiate his future with any team since January 1. In his video, he does not talk about his next destination, but confirms that it will not be in France. “It’s difficult, difficult. I didn’t think it was going to be so hard to announce that, to leave my country, France, Ligue 1, a championship that I have always known. But I think I needed this, a new challenge after seven years”he explains.
His last match at the Parc des Princes on Sunday
Everything suggests that the captain of the Blues will join the ranks of Real Madrid, the club of his childhood dreams, this summer. In this major controlled communication operation, all that is now missing is a triumphant press release from “Casa Blanca”, confirming its recruitment.
Even if Ligue 1 no longer had any illusions, the formalization of its departure abroad marks a turning point for the championship, especially since the negotiations on its television rights for the period 2024-2029 have still not been concluded. not successful.
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The striker will have written his name in the annals of French football with seven French championship titles (one with ASM in 2017; five with PSG in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024), three Cups of France (2018, 2020, 2021), two League Cups (2018, 2020), three Champions Trophies (2019, 2020, 2023). He could also add another Coupe de France to his list of achievements, on May 25, after the final against Olympique Lyonnais. His name will also remain engraved in the history of the Parisian team, of which he is the top scorer.
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“It was me, with my qualities and my faults. But I tried to give the best version of myself during these seven years [au PSG]. First of all, I want to say thank you, because without you, I wouldn’t have been able to experience half of all the emotions I experienced.”he said with a certain modesty, after having paid tribute to all of his teammates, his coaches, and more broadly the “club people”.
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Sunday, at 9 p.m., against Toulouse, Kylian Mbappé will play his last match at the Parc des Princes with the red and blue jersey. And to conclude his video, with a thumbs up, with a “This is Paris!” ».
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2024-05-10 18:27:29
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