In France they seem to have completely forgotten about Lionel Messi and entrust themselves to their “true savior”.
“Mbappé dependencya”, a word that begins to sound more and more in the streets of Parisresigned to the fact that the constellation of stars amassed by the Qatari owners of the capital club shine only with the light projected on them by the young world champion.
All eyes are on the 23-year-old player both for what he does on the field of play and for every gesture he leaves off it, because if Kylian Mbappé is the present of Paris Saint-Germain, the city lives pending his future.
His commitment to PSG ends on June 30 and the player seems destined to fulfill it in the most professional way possible. But, until now, he refuses to extend his contract, which raises all the ghosts in the French capital who fear they are living the last games of the prodigy in their ranks.
With the added paradox that on Wednesday they will face a double rival: the one who can separate them from the Champions Leaguetheir great goal of the year, and who can take away from their star, the stone on which they want to pivot their future project.
That PSG depends sportingly on Mbappé had been suspected for weeks, but last Saturday it became more evident than ever: sanctioned, the team added their third defeat of the year against Nicean unimportant accident given the advantage they have in the classification, but alarming as it occurred on the eve of the crucial duel at the Bernabéu.
And, above all, because without their star striker, despite having Messi and a newly recovered NeymarThe team of Mauricio Pochettino showed a clear inability to create danger in the opponent’s area, to the point that the rival coach, Christophe Galtier, who has taken PSG well, was blunt: “PSG has nothing to do with Mbappé and PSG without Mbappé“.
The fans cling to that rule, hoping that the player will be as decisive this Wednesday as he was three weeks ago in the first leg, when he intimidated the Madrid defense until, at the last breath, he managed to beat Thibaut Courtois, his last obstacle and put the Parisians ahead.
Author of 19 goals in his league and another five in the Champions League, the Frenchman carries on his back the weight of a team that loses light without him on the field. For now, his shoulders are solid enough to keep the team in good standing on all fronts, an implication that makes Parisians think that, beyond his unquestionable professionalism, which leads him to give everything until the last day of his contract , there is hope that it will continue for a while longer in the French capital.
Other gestures are added to this. A week ago, when after drawing with Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the club’s second all-time top scorer he said he would like to make an indelible mark on PSG by overtaking leader Edinson Cavani, the city got excited about the prospect of it renovating. But a question weighs on the team: what will happen if Madrid eliminate PSG?
The French club’s season would be practically over and, with it, the current honeymoon between the stands and Mbappé. The player could not keep hiding his cards much longer. The club’s management, which does not hide its desire for the project to rest on him, younger and more promising than the other two great stars, Messi and Neymar, had to start preparing for the future.
The Frenchman would have to position himself, because in case of not renewing the club he would go hunting for another star in the market. The problem for the player is that, in the event that he eliminates Madrid, the club he fell in love with in his childhood, he would not have a truce either.
The white team, already deprived of Europe, would also begin to think about its future and should know if it goes through a footballer that everyone points to as the star of the coming years in Europe. Although he denies it, the tie against Madrid deprives him of the buffer that, until now, has allowed him to show the best version of himself as a footballer. After the Bernabéu, Mbappé’s new life begins.
