Kylian Mbappé will leave Paris after seven seasons, leaving a bitter aftertaste. The French press was unanimous in its severity towards the striker for his performance on his last European night at the Parc des Princes. “Too weak for a player who dreams of the Ballon d’Or,” wrote Le Figaro. “Mbappé created little,” stated Le Parisien. For L’Équipe, the lost semi-final against Borussia Dortmund will remain in his memory as “a nightmare.”
The captain of the French team himself was self-critical and did not look for excuses. “If you’re good, you don’t shoot at the posts,” he said after the game when asked about the big scoring chances.
Some analysts, such as L’Équipe, blamed part of the responsibility on the PSG leaders themselves for coming forward to announce Mbappé’s departure, and on Luis Enrique, for his incomprehensible strategy of leaving the player on the bench, as if he were punished. , in some games. According to the sports newspaper, the forward’s use of half throttle did not contribute to his better preparation for the decisive semi-final against the Germans. The positioning on the field was also subject to censorship. The coach would not have known how to find the best performance from the star, who in recent months would have lost agility, technical sensitivity and nose for goal. In short, a quite devastating trial from which no one is saved.
The elimination of PSG occurred at a very sensitive moment for French sport, just hours before the arrival of the Olympic flame, by boat, from Greece, to the port of Marseille. The presence of the Parisian team in the Wembley final would have been a good omen for the performance of the French athletes in the Games that start on July 26. The only thing missing, now, is for Mbappé to be deprived of competing due to the veto of his new club, which barring any surprises will be Real Madrid. Macron, who was already deeply involved a couple of years ago to ensure that the striker remained at PSG when he was tempted by the merengue club, has once again spoken out in favor of him being able to participate in the Olympic event as captain of the blues.
Mbappé’s sad farewell highlights the contradiction between his brilliant statistics as the team’s top scorer and the insurmountable frustration of not having been able to win the Champions League, despite having had players of the caliber of Neymar, Messi or Dembélé at his side.
The former player and now BeIN Sports commentator Marcel Desailly even advised Mbappé, almost in a provocative tone, that, instead of signing for Madrid, he should play a year in Saudi Arabia to pocket a million. According to Desailly, at the Bernabéu he will not be an uncontested leader, since he will have Vinícius and Bellingham as teammates. Beyond Mbappé’s personal future, there are also reasons to question the Qatari-owned PSG. After Tuesday’s defeat, the entry into the club’s capital, a few months ago, of the American investment fund Arctos Partners perhaps takes on another meaning. The new stage could hold surprises.
