Football
Mbappe gives honest opinion about PSG’s UCL ambitions
Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe believes that the club is still heading in the right direction, though he admits that they are not yet at a level where they can realistically challenge for the Champions League.
The French side were bought by Oryx Qatar Sports Investments in 2011 and have been on a upward trajectory ever since, having won five of the last six Ligue 1 titles and looking odds on to dominate the domestic league again this season.
But PSG have repeatedly come up short in Europe’s top competition, where they fell at the round of 16 to Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid across the last two seasons.
And while the star-studded side are 13 points clear at the top of the league table following a record-breaking start to their campaign in France, the Champions League is proving a far tougher task once again.
PSG sit third in their group behind Liverpool and Napoli, with the Premier League side next up on their European schedule.
Despite the club’s ambition of being Champions League winner, young star Mbappe thinks there is still growth needed in the side before they can truly challenge the top teams in Europe, though he does say the continent’s top prize will “become their goal at some point.”
“The club hasn’t stopped growing since the new owners arrived, and we players must evolve together with the club before we can think about winning a Champions League, that’s the final step (in the process),” he told said.
“The club is very conscious about these steps and, if everyone plays their part, it will come naturally.
“But, with our potential, of course the Champions League will become our goal at some point.”
Mbappe also pointed to a growing relationship with star man Neymar as a step in the right direction for both him and the club.
Mbappe and Neymar both joined the club in the summer of 2017, and while communication was difficult between the two in their early days together, the teenager believes they have built a strong bond between them.
“We began talking since before I arrived at PSG, he was there already and knew I was coming too,” he said.
“He asked when I’d arrive, and how. It wasn’t always an easy relationship, because both me and him didn’t speak good English in the beginning, and he didn’t speak any French. Now we can talk, and with communication the affinities come naturally.”