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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Andrew Gastelum

Mbappé Reacts to PSG’s Champions League Collapse Amid Growing Real Madrid Speculation

After PSG was eliminated from yet another Champions League run, all eyes now turn to which club Kylian Mbappé will play for next in the competition. 

The French star was the only PSG player to score in the round of 16 against Real Madrid with his goal in at the end of the first leg and his 39th-minute opener on Wednesday. 

Mbappé scoring at the Bernabéu more regularly could become a real possibility with the forward being linked with a move to Real Madrid after asking to leave PSG last year. However, in his reaction to Wednesday’s loss, the 23-year-old did not mention anything beyond this season, when his contract at PSG runs up. 

“Difficult time. The Champions League was a big goal for us, but we failed,” Mbappé posted in translated comments on Instagram. “The season is not over and whatever happens we will remain united and determined until the last game of the season. Thank you to the supporters who support us and who made the trip. ICI C’EST PARIS.”

Last week, PSG sporting director Leonardo said he still believed that the club had a chance at signing Mbappé to a new contract. 

With his goal Wednesday, Mbappé moved past Zlatan Ibrahimović on the club’s all-time scoring list with his 157th goal for PSG. Only Edinson Cavani (200 goals) has scored more for the French side than Mbappé. 

But Karim Benzema stole the spotlight with his second-half hat trick for Real Madrid to overcome a 2–0 aggregate deficit and eliminate PSG from the Champions League. 

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