Mbappe: Madrid’s Ronaldo was childhood ‘idol’
Kylian Mbappe has told Marca that Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo was his “idol” as a child but hopes he and his Paris Saint-Germain teammates can “send a message to the world” by scoring a landmark Champions League win at the home of the club that also tried to sign him last summer.
The 19-year-old joined PSG on a seasonlong loan from Monaco in August after scoring 27 goals in all competitions last season, with the French giants holding a mandatory purchase clause.
Champions League holders Real showed a strong interest in the France international and Mbappe told Marca: “There were a lot of transfer rumours, it’s true that we spoke, but I think that is now in the past for me and for Real Madrid. Now I play at PSG and I’m going to defend these colours 100 percent.
“I chose PSG because it’s the team of my city, it’s like if a madrileno [Madrid born] boy of [Real] Madrid has the opportunity to play for his team and goes elsewhere, to another country. I wanted to play for PSG and I’m very happy with how things are going.”
Mbappe believes his team can overtake Real and become “the best team in the world.”
He said: “I’m very young. There’s time but as I say, I want to play in the best team in the world in the future and I believe PSG has everything to achieve that. If this team grows with me, there is no reason to leave.”
PSG have invested heavily in their team since Nasser Al-Khelaifi bought the club in 2011, notably in world-record signing Neymar and Mbappe last summer.