NO MERCY FOR SUITORS
PSG’s Mbappe to fire on all cylinders in CL encounter against Real Madrid
AS Paris Saint-Germain prepare to face Real Madrid in the Champions League, the French club hope a victory in the tie could yet help convince Kylian Mbappe to stay rather than move to the Spanish capital.
The clock continues to tick down on the World Cup-winning striker’s contract in Paris which expires in June, five years after he joined his hometown team from Monaco.
It is understood PSG turned down an equivalent offer from Real last August to keep Mbappe for at least one more season and team him up in attack with Lionel Messi and Neymar.
That seemed to prove money is no object for the Qatar-owned club, but it appears that all the money in the world may not be enough to convince Mbappe, now 23, to stay at the Parc des Princes.
Real’s pursuit of the France star goes back to when he was a young teenager and they invited him and his parents to take in a game at the
Santiago Bernabeu, having Zinedine Zidane meet him at their training ground.
He opted to sign for Monaco then, and he chose PSG in 2017 despite again being linked with Real, yet an eventual move to Madrid has always seemed inevitable.
Mbappe has been the top scorer in Ligue 1 in the last three seasons and despite the arrival of Messi, he has remained PSG’s most decisive player by a distance in this campaign.
On Friday, he scored the winner against Rennes to move on to 21 goals for the season, more than Messi, Neymar, Angel Di Maria and Mauro Icardi put together.
“He is already one of the greatest players in PSG’s history,” captain Marquinhos said. When asked if he had tried to convince Mbappe to stay, he added: “Of course.”
In Paris, they are clinging to the hope Mbappe could change his mind if Mauricio Pochettino’s team beat Madrid in their Champions League last-16 tie, with the first leg at the Parc des Princes today to be followed by the return in Spain on March 9.
“I have not made my decision,” Mbappe said.
“The fact we are playing against Real Madrid changes a lot of things.
“Even though I am free to do so, I am not going to go and talk to our opponents. I am focused on beating Real Madrid and then we will see.”
A loss to Real, followed by Mbappe confirming his departure would feel like a humiliation for a club still chasing elusive Champions League glory, 11 years on from the Qatar Sports Investments takeover.