Kylian Mbappé closed his eyes and took a breath. The pain of failure seemed to torment France’s most famous professional footballer, who must have realized at that moment at the latest that he would probably no longer lift the Champions League trophy in the Paris Saint-Germain jersey. And while the fans were still digesting the defeat in the stands, Mbappé, who has been linked with a move to Spanish record champions Real Madrid, was harshly critical of himself.
“I’m the one who has to score goals. If I score, I accept the spotlight, if I don’t score, I also accept the shadow,” said the 25-year-old after the 0-1 (0-0) in the semi-final second leg against Borussia Dortmund. Lost. Yet again. The end seems like a turning point in the million-dollar game of the club, which once used the money from Qatar to buy Mbappé (180 million euros) and Neymar (222 million) with the clear goal of winning this one trophy.
“The end of his dream,” was the appropriate headline from L’Equipe, although Mbappé could probably fulfill this dream at some point in the white jersey of Madrid. Just not in Paris. There will be pure disillusionment there in May 2024. “He should go to Real,” complained a fan as he left the Prinzenpark: “He should go with great pleasure.”
“If you’re good, you won’t hit the post”
Mbappé didn’t even want to talk about the topic. The French international striker was asked by a journalist whether he would keep his fingers crossed for Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the other semi-final. Mbappé then looked up annoyed, pressed his lips together and then disappeared from the microphones and the image of the TV cameras.
The 2018 world champion could have rewritten the script of his upcoming farewell from a drama to a heroic saga. But shortly before the end his shot hit the aluminum, as PSG would do four times that day and had already happened twice in the 1-0 defeat in the first leg in Dortmund. “When you’re good, you don’t hit the post, you put it in, we weren’t good enough there,” was Mbappé’s verdict.
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And so we won’t be going to the final at Wembley on June 1st, not with the pot in the winner’s parade over the Champs Élysées. The Mbappé era at PSG, which began in 2017, threatens to end unspectacularly. What’s more: After the leak of his move to Real had already caused unrest in the previous weeks and coach Luis Enrique used him noticeably less in the league, his reputation in Paris took a hit in the last few meters.
What remains? PSG are already champions of Ligue 1 and will play in the national cup final against Olympique Lyon on May 25th. Club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi (“I’m proud”) tried to play down the disappointment: “We have reached the semi-finals three times in five years. Of course it’s not our goal to end there, we want to move on.”
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Enrique, who is also said to be paid very well in Paris, was brought in before the season with this assignment. On Tuesday he tried to moderate his team’s failure: “When I came, the goal was to play for every trophy as best as I could. When the season is over, after the cup final, we will see what we have achieved.”
At least at international level, there is still a lot of room for improvement for PSG. Since Qatar joined in 2011, it was only enough for the final in 2020 at the Corona tournament in Portugal, with PSG then against FC Bayern, for which it was this Wednesday (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Champions League and on DAZN) against Real Madrid, once again fighting for a place in the final, lost. The team will make a new attempt next season, probably without their striker Mbappé.