Kylian Mbappe became the first teenager since Pele in 1958 to score in a World Cup final.

The young superstar striker was one of the top performers as Les Bleus claimed their second ever World Cup triumph!

His performances, which saw Kylian find the net four times, helped the youngster to claim the Best Young Player trophy when the tournament came to a close.

This summer has also seen the nineteen year old linked with a move away from PSG, with Real Madrid and Manchester United being heavily linked with the exciting forward.

Real in particular are rumoured to be highly interested, they’ve just sold star man Cristiano Ronaldo to Italian champions Juventus in an £88m.

The player himself has delivered a blunt response to those rumours after yesterday’s final:

‘No, I have a contract with PSG, I’m happy with this team.’

‘At the moment, this transfer is absolutely impossible.’

That should be news to the ears of those that run the Ligue 1 champs.

PSG’s Qatari owners have always been keen to have world renowned stars in Paris. That’s why they brought in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva in 2012. They were delighted to have David Beckham at the club, even though it was for just a short period of time and it’s why they shattered the world transfer record last summer bringing in Brazilian superstar Neymar from FC Barcelona.

All of those players have added something to Les Parisiens, even with it was just added media exposure.

In Mbappe, they could have the next big, big thing. The player that could take the one that finally takes Ballon d’Or away from Lionel Messi and Ronaldo.

Now some have speculated that PSG can’t keep hold of both Neymar and Mbappe this summer, if that’s true then I have no doubts that they should punt the Brazilian attacker and keep the homegrown teenage sensation.

Neymar had a sensational scoring season during his debut year in France. He scored twenty-eight times in thirty appearances for his new team.

But in all honesty, I’m not convinced by Neymar’s attitude since his earth shattering move to Paris.

He moaned a lot, fell out with teammates, took responsibility away from his head coach and his season ended in February due to a broken metatarsal bone. Many debated the seriousness of this injury, believing that Neymar wanted to protect his World Cup dreams with Selecao and deliberately put his club career on the back burner.

I feel that the number ten hasn’t been as respectful of Ligue 1 as he should’ve been and that attitude backfired on him with some inconsistent performances at the World Cup.

Now I’m not doubting Neymar’s ability. On his day, he’s terrific and can be unplayable. I just don’t think he was as well rounded at PSG last season as he was at Barca in the previous campaign. It’s funny that he left the Catalan giants to get away from Messi’s shadow, yet arguably he wasn’t as committed to the task in hand of being the best version of Neymar that he could be.

On the other hand you have Mbappe.

The teen came in without as much fanfare but everyone knew it was a huge deal to bring him from AS Monaco. 

He may not have scored as many as Edinson Cavani or Neymar but the forward wasn’t played through the middle. Kylian was asked to play on the right and did so to great effect and never seemed to complain.

His skill-set reminds me of a young Brazilian Ronaldo.

He’s got frightening electric pace, bundles of confidence and a powerful ruthless streak. As Cavani and Neymar squabbled; Mbappe would work hard, scoring twenty-one times and assisting eleven for his teammates.

Another quality he shares with ‘O Fenomeno’ is that he plays the game with a huge smile on his face. He’s just a kid that loves nothing more than getting on the football field and having the ball at his feet.

Mbappe is now a French hero and unlike Messi, Cristiano and Neymar he has already triumphed at a World Cup.

You really get the feeling that he’s just on the cusp of becoming a true great of the game.

Last month as France started their successful summer campaign, Les Bleus coach Didier Deschamps stated:

“He’s got great qualities and he was able to show his pace today. I don’t think he sacrificed himself by defending. He just did what the team needed him to do. I’m very happy with his performance today,”

That quote shows you why we already love Kylian Mbappe and why he’ll be world class for years to come. He isn’t selfish or arrogant and will do things for the team as well as shining with his attacking ability.

I’m not saying that PSG have to sell either or between Neymar and his French counterpart. If they chose to sell one of them, then I’d definitely keep the young World Cup winner.

The fans can relate to him and he’ll give you more. He won’t disrupt things and in my opinion will be the star that could finally secure the Ballon d’Or whilst wearing a PSG shirt.

The French club really should make Kylian the face of their club and build their starting eleven around him. He really is that good!

 

Posted on July 16th, 2018 by scott
Filed under: Article