Another disappointing European season is a reality for Paris Saint-Germain, after they crashed out of the Champions League on Wednesday after a 3-0 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich.
After the second leg in Munich, Kylian Mbappe was coy on his future at the French champions, as speculation over a possible move to Real Madrid continues to linger. The 24-year-old only signed a new contract at PSG last season, but he could well be on the move in the near future.
PSG have reported set an asking price of €200m if any club wishes to sign Mbappe, despite rumblings that he could be available on a free transfer next summer.
However, Mbappe is being urged to leave the French capital as soon as possible. Speaking after PSG’s exit on Wednesday, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher stated his belief that the forward should leave for the good for the good of his career, as per Sport.
“Mbappe has to leave PSG as soon as possible. They are not close to winning the Champions League and I don’t think they will improve enough next year to be able to win it. The sooner he leaves and goes to Real Madrid, the better it will be for him.”
Florentino Perez remains very interested in bringing Mbappe to Real Madrid, but amid reports that they are pursuing a move for Erling Haaland this summer, it remains to be seen whether both players will be targeted.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72056389/1472216612.0.jpg)
Bayern Munich saw off Paris Saint Germain in the Round of 16 of the Champions League with a convincing second half performance that squeezed all the life out of the Parisians. It was a very solid effort from every player and one that the team will be proud of for a long time. But it could have been different. PSG did have chances in the first half, with Vitinha’s open goal miss as the glaring highlight.
Paris Saint Germain’s coach Christophe Galtier feels that things could have gone differently if PSG had converted those chances. FCBayern.com, Bayern’s official website, captured his comments: “We didn’t manage to score with the chances we had. We gave it a good go in the first half and felt we could hang with the opposition, but we didn’t take our chances.
“If you fall behind after an hour, it’s tough. It’s a big disappointment, but we have to deal with it and accept it. If we’d scored first, it would have been a different outcome, but we didn’t do that.”
France national team star Kylian Mbappe was eager to shift his focus to the future, and back to the domestic league, where PSG are still in pole position — though that’s now the only competition left, thanks to their loss to Marseille in the French Cup on February 8.
“We’re disappointed, but it is what it is, we have to move on to other things,” Mbappe said afterwards (via @iMiaSanMia). “[Bayern] have a team built to win the Champions League. As for us, this is our maximum. We’re going to question ourselves and return to our day-to-day life in Ligue 1.”
Maximum, as in limit? Unfortunately for the Parisians, the Round of 16 really has been the end of their Champions League road, two seasons running now. And it has been far, far less than what is expected. How will PSG rebuild from here? Time will tell
Source: football-espana.net, bavarianfootballworks.com
