French Legend Fires Back at Kylian Mbappe Narrative Amid PSG Champions League Success
· Yahoo Sports
Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid were once again eliminated from the UEFA Champions League in the quarterfinals, just like last season. A very different reality from that of PSG, the reigning champion and freshly qualified for the semifinals of this campaign.
Neither Mbappe, 27, nor many fans expected Paris Saint-Germain to become the machine that head coach Luis Enrique has turned them into. Without their all-time leading scorer, the Parisians are playing football that will surely be discussed in the history books of this sport.
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Former French player Emmanuel Petit has a clear opinion on this situation. In recent statements for RMC Sport, he spoke about it.
Petit specifically analyzed Mbappe's departure from PSG. A departure that coincides with the renewal of the Parisian club and unprecedented difficulties for Real Madrid.
"When Kylian Mbappe arrives at Real Madrid, the club is European champion. He arrives with the wish to win the Champions League and the Ballon d'Or," Petit noted.
The former player continued on the benefits reaped by Paris since the forward's departure: "This timing really works against him. Since PSG has been playing like a team, they have been phenomenal and they are all united like the fingers of a hand."
Petit also pointed out the problems of the Spanish club since Mbappe's signing: "And strangely, since his arrival at Real Madrid, it has caused ego problems in the locker room."
In recent hours, an interview with the French forward from 2024, just after signing with Los Blancos, has gone viral. Speaking with Canal+, the Bondy native, ironically, said he hoped PSG would not win the Champions League because he wanted to win it with his new team, and there is only one trophy.
"For now, I don't hope so because I want to win it with Madrid, and there aren't two trophies. But in the future, I hope that one day they will win because the supporters, the people who suffer there daily, deserve a bit of happiness all the same. But not now, because I need to win a little," the Bondy native said then.
A little more than two years later, Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League a few months after Mbappe's remarks and remains in contention for a back-to-back that few believed possible just a few weeks ago.
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