‘Playing for them doesn’t help’ – Kylian Mbappe’s scathing PSG assessment fuels further Real Madrid links
Kylian Mbappe has suggested that any potential stigma around his ability as a player could be attached to his association with PSG.
It is not often the World Cup-winning forward is scolded for his talents on the field, but there have been occasions where his performances have been put under the microscope — and he believes that criticism could be a by-product of playing for PSG.
The 24-year-old also hit out at modern society in a scathing critique of player analysis. He went on to suggest that fans have been conditioned to want instant gratification in a “consumer society”, and as such, there is an unrealistic clamour for him to perform at the peak of his powers every game.
Speaking to France Football, Mbappe said: “Do people trivialise my performance? Yes, but at the same time, I don’t blame them.
“In France, they saw me grow up, they see me all the time, at PSG every weekend or in the national team. And I’ve been scoring a lot for years. So, for people, it becomes normal.
“I never complained that my performances were trivialised. I am young and I had the chance to be an observer, not so long ago, before being an actor. And myself, I trivialised what [Lionel] Messi was doing, what Cristiano Ronaldo was doing, what the great players were doing. We are in a consumer society, where ‘it’s good, but do it again’.
“And the fact that I’m right next door, in Paris… I think playing at PSG doesn’t help much because it’s a divisive team, a divisive club. So, of course it attracts gossip but it doesn’t bother me because I know what I’m doing and how I do it.”
Although Mbappe’s comments can be framed in the context of a wider criticism than just PSG alone, they certainly won’t help cool speculation linking him with a move to Real Madrid.
It was recently revealed in a leaked letter that Mbappe won’t be extending his contract with PSG beyond next summer — when his current deal is set to expire — though he has already confirmed that he will be staying at the Parc des Princes next season.
There are reports, therefore, that suggest PSG are already resigned to the fact that Mbappe has agreed to join Los Blancos next summer for nothing, though they could be open to selling him this window for around £150m to recoup some funds.
