Kylian Mbappe looked set to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the summer window, but he ultimately remained in the French capital and has started the season in fine form
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Lionel Messi’s move to Paris Saint-Germain shook the footballing world to its foundations earlier this summer.
Not only was the Barcelona legend calling time on one of the most legendary club spells in history, he was joining a strikeforce the likes of which have rarely been seen.
The prospect of Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe was a prospect as tantalising to fans, as it was terrifying to the rest of Europe.
But just weeks after Messi swapped the Camp Nou for the Parc des Princes, the chances of the trio labelled ‘MNM’ ever linking up took a hit.
With less than 12 months remaining on his current contract, the future of Kylian Mbappe was always expected to be an area of contention.
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Image:
REUTERS)
However, speculation was sent into overdrive when Real Madrid launched two bids for the World Cup winner – with the second believed to be in the region of £170million.
They were rejected, and ultimately Mbappe will remain with the red-hot Ligue 1 title favourites for at least one more season.
There was then a question as to whether the transfer saga surrounding the 22-year-old could derail what could be his final season in French football.
Of course, there was also a concern that ‘too many cooks’ could have also impacted his performances, with Messi likely to be on the end of a host of their free-flowing moves.
Alas, all of those concerns were unnecessary. In the opening seven games of the season, Mbappe already has four goals and three assists and on Thursday was named August’s player of the month by UNFP.
With six gongs, no player has ever won more Ligue 1 awards than the dynamic forward, but that hasn’t completely won over disgruntled fans.
On Sunday, for the second home match on the spin, Mbappe was booed by home supporters when his name was read out.
The club’s technical director has looked to dampen any animosity however, suggesting “everyone” still likes him and predicting he will extend his stay in the French capital.
“I don’t see Mbappe leaving at the end of this season,” he told Canal Plus. “Nobody is thinking about the future of Paris Saint-Germain without Kylian.
“Kylian sort of represents the difference between the superficial and the deep. Kylian’s relationship with Paris Saint-Germain is deep. That’s why we don’t think about anything else.
“Kylian represents many things. Not only because he is French or one of the best players in the world.
“He has a way of being that we like and one that everyone likes.”
Whether he sticks with the club or not remains to be seen, but one thing that isn’t up for debate is that even when Messi is in the lineup, Mbappe is still PSG’s main man.
