Kylian Mbappe may have dominated headlines for his situation off the pitch more than for what he’s done on the pitch this season, but he showed why he’s the world class talent in as much demand as he is with his Champions League heroics against Barcelona this week.
PSG have under-achieved so many times in Europe’s top club competition, with the Nou Camp also happening to be the scene of their most embarrassing collapse in 2017, when Barcelona came from 4-0 down in the first leg to triumph 6-1 in the second fixture and go through to the next round.
Mbappe, however, helped PSG overcome the odds this time, as Luis Enrique’s side came from 3-2 down in the first leg to win their second game 4-1 and set up a very winnable semi-final against Borussia Dortmund.
PSG will clearly be the favourites to get past Dortmund and make it to just their second final, where they’d be up against either Bayern Munich, the team that beat them in 2020, or Real Madrid, the club widely considered to be Mbappe’s next employers when his contract at the Parc des Princes expires this summer.
Mbappe to beat Real Madrid before joining them, or could we see the ultimate transfer U-turn?
Are we about to witness one of the craziest sagas of recent Champions League history? As things stand, you’d certainly bet on a Real Madrid vs PSG final, meaning the biggest game in world football becomes all about one player.
Mbappe is surely next in line to the Ballon d’Or throne now that the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is all but over, but he’ll have to get a Champions League medal to really earn it, and that could mean toppling his future club.
As fans start to prepare for their summer plans and look into how to buy Euro 2024 tickets, there’ll also be plenty wondering when Mbappe’s future will finally be resolved, and it’s long been expected that his move to Real Madrid will be announced once it’s clear PSG can no longer play them in the Champions League.
But if Mbappe were to score the winner for PSG against Madrid in the Champions League final – what then? The France international may yet be tempted to change his mind and stay in Paris to continue cementing a potentially great legacy, while one imagines Los Blancos fans might not welcome him as eagerly if he’s the man denying them the biggest prize in football.
With nothing officially announced yet, this intriguing twist in the Champions League season could make the next few months very interesting indeed.
