Kylian Mbappe 'going to relish' being Paris Saint-Germain focal point in Champions League knockouts - Owen Hargreaves

Kylian Mbappe is "going to relish" being Paris Saint-Germain's focal point in the UEFA Champions League knockouts, believes Owen Hargreaves.

Luis Enrique's side are at home to Real Sociedad on Wednesday night, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, as they look to secure a first-leg lead in the last-16 clash.

Mbappe now leads the club's line without the departed Lionel Messi and Neymar, who exited last summer.

Speaking on TNT Sports, Hargreaves said: "They [PSG] tried too many stars, and it didn’t work. Real Madrid tried that with the Galacticos and it didn’t work.

"Mbappe might be better off being the focal point; the star, and then working around him.

"It’ll be interesting because they tried with Messi and Neymar, but they never, ever got near it.

"I bet Mbappe’s going to relish being the focal point, even if they’re not the favourites that they were in the past."

Rio Ferdinand, alongside Hargreaves, still has doubts about PSG's ability to land European football's top prize.

He said: "For any young, aspiring players, they’ve shown that you can’t win big trophies with passengers without the ball.

"They had that with three of them, where they switched off without the ball, and they used to get punished in the later stages of the tournament.

"Can they do it with one person who will be a passenger without the ball? It remains to be seen, but I strongly doubt that."

TNT Sports pundit Glen Hoddle agreed with Ferdinand's assessment of PSG's Champions League chances, questioning the team's defensive abilities.

"They’ve tried so many top managers, they’ve come and gone, they’ve had the best player in the world, Messi, go there with Neymar and Mbappe," he said. "Superstars. Still not good enough.

"It’s really down to how they defend as a side. There’s two sides to this game: we all like to see the beautiful, creative play - the beautiful game - but they don’t get their defending right at this level - Champions League level."

According to multiple reports, Mbappe is set to leave PSG at the end of the season and has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid.

Speaking on TNT Sports, Peter Crouch urged Mbappe to move clubs so he could replicate the achievements of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

"He’s got the ability to go on and achieve what they’ve [Messi and Ronaldo] achieved, but what they achieved was multiple Champions Leagues, Ballon D’Ors," Crouch explained. "This is as good as Mbappe can be. He has to move.

"If you look at the French league, it’s behind the German, Spanish, and Premier League. The fourth top league. I’m not saying which is the best, but he has to move if he wants to be considered to be in that bracket with Messi and Ronaldo.

"Just a phenomenal player that we all enjoy watching. Just a shame that he spends it in the French league. There are better leagues for him to go to, and he has to go."

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