Kylian Mbappe insists his future is ‘not decided’ after scoring winner for Paris-Saint Germain against Real Madrid
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Updated 16/02/2022 at 12:16 GMT
With Real Madrid seconds away from securing a draw in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain, Kylian Mbappe wriggled away from two defenders to slot low past Thibaut Courtois and snatch a win for his side. Having long been linked with a move to Real, the 23-year-old was asked about his career plans after the game but suggested that nothing is set in stone.
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Kylian Mbappe has insisted that his future is “not decided” after scoring a late winner for Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid.
With Real Madrid seconds away from securing a draw at the Parc des Princes, Mbappe picked up a backheel from Neymar out wide, cut inside and wriggled past Lucas Vazquez and Eder Militao before slotting low beneath Thibaut Courtois to snatch a win for his side.
While they will only take a one-goal lead to the Bernabeu next month, PSG are now narrow favourites to reach the quarter-finals.
Mbappe is out of contract in the summer, despite PSG’s best efforts to tie him down to a new deal, and has been strongly linked with a move to Real.
“I’ve not decided my future,” Mbappe told Movistar after the match. “I play for Paris Saint-Germain, one of the best clubs in the world.
“This game to influence my future? No, I’ve not decided, I give my best and then we will see what happens next season.”
Asked by Canal+ how he managed to shut out the noise about a move to Real, he said: “How to ignore the [transfer] context? It’s easy, you have to play football.
“We ask too many questions, we say too many things. We talk about PSG and Real, two big clubs. I’m a PSG player, I’m always very happy.”
PSG head coach Mauricio Pochettino was also asked about Mbappe’s future after the match, suggesting that Les Parisiens have not given up on extending his contract.
“We hope that Mbappe will be with us in Paris for many years,” he said. “I’m running out of words to describe him.”
Asked about Mbappe earlier this month, Pochettino struck a similarly optimistic tone. Hopefully he spends his entire career at PSG, which would be a very good sign for us and the club, he said. For me he is a player who is in the top five of the world without any doubt.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Carlo Ancelotti was full of admiration for Mbappe despite seeing him dent Real’s hopes of progressing to the quarter-finals. “Mbappe is the best player in European football,” he said.
“Mbappe is unstoppable, we have tried to control him. [Eder] Militao has done very well, but he is a player who always invents something.”
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