Paris (AP) – No matter how long Kylian Mbappé is publicly silent, he will certainly not be able to prevent the speculation now.
The superstar from Paris Saint-Germain has allegedly not yet decided about a move to Real Madrid, at least that was the last thing he contributed to the ongoing topic over a week ago. Since then, the 23-year-old Frenchman has wanted to focus on football. After all, there is a rather explosive duel when PSG and Real meet in the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday evening (9 p.m. / Amazon Prime Video). As so often, Mbappé wants to make the difference there.
“My decision has not yet been made,” the attacker said in early February about the change speculation. “Even though I can do whatever I want at the moment, I’m not going to go and talk to the opponent or do anything like that. I’m still focused on winning against Real Madrid.”
Since then he has avoided the microphones. In the eyes of many, the matter should have been clear for a long time. Mbappé’s contract with PSG expires in the summer, so he could leave France for Spain on a free transfer. A few months ago, the transfer failed on the home stretch because Paris ultimately did not accept Real’s offer.
Speculations without impact on Mbappé’s performance
But what happens next summer? Has PSG really screwed up so much that they will have to let one of the biggest stars of international football go without an otherwise gigantic transfer fee? The club is said to be trying stubbornly to extend Mbappé’s contract for at least another year.
“Let’s see what happens. I wish him the best in his career and in his life, he will decide,” said PSG defender Achraf Hakimi in an interview with the Spanish sports newspaper “Marca”. But no matter what others say or speculate: Mbappé’s performance has not been affected so far.
In Ligue 1 and the premier class, his values are sometimes outstanding, even his highly decorated teammates Lionel Messi and Neymar fade in the shadow of the striker, who is as fast as he is sure of his shots. In the Champions League alone, Mbappé has four goals and four assists after six games so far. Once Mbappé has picked up speed, it’s almost impossible to stop him. Neymar, who was still ailing, returned to training on Monday just in time for the duel with the Spaniards.
That’s one of the reasons why PSG go into the first leg as slight favorites against Los Blancos, who lead the Spanish league but were held to a 0-0 draw at Villarreal at the weekend. On the way to the long-awaited first Champions League triumph, Real should only be a stopover for the Qatari million-dollar project PSG. It could be the last chance for the French to win the premier class with Mbappé.