The France forward is set to join the Blaugrana’s arch-nemeses in the coming weeks, and could give them a taste of what’s to come over the next week
After Paris Saint-Germain’s late draw with lowly Clermont Foot on Saturday, Kylian Mbappe offered a rather ominous assessment of his side’s upcoming Champions League fixture with Barcelona this Wednesday. “I’m not going to hide,” he told Telefoot. “I’m sure we are going to give it our all.”
Those comments come as a stark contrast from the rather disgruntled player who has slumped around Parc des Princes of late. Since informing PSG that he intends to leave the club at the end of the season, Mbappe has been in and out of Luis Enrique’s line-up, and has spoken in vague platitudes about his intention to give his all for the club, insisting that he remains very much focused on the task at hand.
His comments over the weekend, then, served as a battle cry of sorts for an opponent who are about to become a big part of Mbappe’s life. The France captain is going to become very familiar with Barcelona over the next decade, such is the rivalry between his (likely) future club, Real Madrid, and the team he will face over two legs in the space of a week, starting in Paris on Wednesday.
In this tie, he has the chance to launch a pre-emptive strike on the Blaugrana, as Los Blancos’ next superstar is given an opportunity to deliver a hefty blow to his soon-to-be arch rivals before he even dons Madrid white for the first time.
Deal almost done
Mbappe has flirted with joining Madrid for some time now. The possibility of him moving to Santiago Bernabeu first cropped up in 2019, and the Spanish giants tried again in 2021. Los Blancos were eventually convinced they everything was in place for the deal to be done in May 2022 – only for Mbappe to spurn their interest when the Parisians came to the negotiating table with more money.
Off the back of that desicion, Madrid insisted – rather petulantly – that Mbappe would never play for them. The ship, they claimed, had sailed.
It, of course, hasn’t worked out that way, as the Mbappe to Madrid rumours have never really gone away. In October 2022, it emerged that the Frenchman was trying to force his way out of his hometown – and had Madrid in mind as his next destination. Although that talk was rubbished by the player himself, it did little to silence the chatter outright. New reports cropped up each week, and by last summer, when Mbappe made it public that he would not be signing an extension to stay in Paris, the door re-opened in earnest.
Madrid seem to have taken full advantage of his discontent. Mbappe has, depending on which version of the same story you believe, already agreed to his transfer. A contract, complete with a record-breaking €150 million(£128m/$162m) signing bonus, has already been verbally confirmed.
Numerous Madrid players have since conceded that they believe a deal is close, while Mbappe himself hinted at it, saying he would “arrive at the Euros with peace of mind. I’m already calm. It’s not even a topic at [PSG] anymore, no one talks to me about it.”
Final piece in a super-team
Madrid must be ecstatic – and not just because of their soon-to-be star signing. Everything has fallen into place for Los Blancos over the past 12 months, and they are in a perfect position to welcome in the man they have coveted for so long.
This season could have taken the shape of a rebuild – especially given they decided against signing Mbappe last summer. They entered the campaign without a recognised striker, too many midfielders, and an ageing Toni Kroos and Luka Modric on their way out. It also looked like Carlo Ancelotti was heading for the Brazil job at the end of the campaign, and so while Jude Bellingham may have arrived, this was far from a complete side.
The reality, of course, has been radically different. Madrid are running away with La Liga, while Bellingham is the Ballon d’Or frontrunner. Kroos has recaptured his best form, and young forwards Rodrygo and Brahim Diaz are enjoying arguably the best seasons of their respective careers alongside the effervescent Vinicius Jr. Ancelotti, meanwhile, turned down Brazil to pen a new deal that will keep him in the Spanish capital until 2026.
Florentino Perez plans to add to the squad, too. Endrick is set to arrive from Palmeiras this summer, with the teenager having hit a fine vein of form ahead of his €60m move to the Bernabeu. There is also talk of Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich’s five-time Bundesliga-winning left-back, joining Los Blancos this summer. Madrid have built yet another super-team, and Mbappe can now slot in as its crown jewel.
Decade of dominance ahead?
This all seems set up for Madrid to remain at the top of the European game. They already have an enviable array of midfielders, and in less than six months, they will have an equally frightening group of attacking options, that could lead to at least one of Endrick or Rodrygo being benched. Depth is one thing, but this level of talent running throughout a squad would be unmatched anywhere in Europe.
It doesn’t appear to be a side that will need to be broken up anytime soon, either. A glance at the star players reveals a very young group. Bellingham is 20, while Vinicius and Rodrygo are both 23. Endrick will turn 18 shortly before he arrives in Madrid in July, and so at 25, Mbappe looks ancient compared to his new team-mates.
But it’s not just the attacking players who have time on the side. Midfield starters Aurelien Tchouameni (24) and Eduardo Camavinga (21) haven’t yet reached their full potential, while Eder Militao, Alphonso, Federico Valverde and Davies – if he signs – are all still yet to hit their prime years.
Assuming the majority stick around for the long haul, then this is a Madrid side set to be the most complete in world football for the next 5-10 years. That should have Barcelona quaking in their boots.
How Barca can respond?
Barca have never really been able to outspend Madrid, and the significant investments they have made in recent years – Philippe Coutinho, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele – have all backfired spectacularly, and are part of the reason that the Blaugrana still find themselves in immense financial trouble.
There isn’t much hope in the transfer market, then. Joan Laporta’s lever-pulling fanaticism of 2022 may have strengthened the squad in the short-term, but financial security in the years to come looks more elusive than ever. One of their recent investors is reportedly late on a massive payment, while La Liga’s financial rules have only tightened around a squad that was already beyond its spending limits. Barca cannot buy their way out of trouble, and so how do they plan to compete with Madrid.
One advantage they have over their rivals is how much talent they have within their academy. NXGN 2024 winner Lamine Yamal is perhaps the best prospect to emerge from La Masia since Lionel Messi, and, if managed correctly, could be a player on Mbappe’s level in the not-too-distant future. There is also hope in the form of Pau Cubarsi at centre-back, and Fermin Lopez in midfield, both of whom have broken into Xavi’s line-up this season.
It is also easy to forget that Gavi won’t turn 20 until this summer, while both Pedri (admittedly not a homegrown player) and Alejandro Balde have only just left their teens. And so while Barca might not be able to spend their way to Madrid’s level, they do have the potential to build a squad that can go toe-to-toe with the very best.
Stop Mbappe, stop PSG?
This Champions League quarter-final, then, is set up nicely. Barca will face a far stronger Mbappe-led team than the current PSG once he moves to Madrid, but this is the chance to put down an early marker for both parties.
Even with Mbappe having been phased out of the line-up by his decision to leave, the Parisians still rely heavily on the Frenchman. His performance-levels have certainly dropped in 2024, but zoom out and this is still a world-class talent who has scored 39 goals in 40 games in all competitions this season.
It would seem that stopping him, then, remains the most obvious route to stifling the Parisians. Of course, doing so will be no easy feat. Mbappe showed for France during the March international break and against Clermont Foot on Saturday that he can still be devastating.
Add to the mix that he has always pledged to bring European success to Paris, and there might not be a worse time to face one of the world’s best. Certainly, Barca know keeping him out is their best route to keeping their own season alive as Madrid run away with the Spanish title.
Statement of intent
But perhaps more than an isolated win, a result against this Mbappe-led side could be a statement of intent. Stopping the soon-to-be Madridista – and knocking his current employers out of the Champions League – could be just the boost Barca need.
It, of course, won’t be easy. Mbappe’s ominous comments suggest this won’t be a game he will shy away from. He has checked in and out of the Parisian set-up for months now, the subject of occasional boos from fans, protest from groups of ultras, and social media ridicule for his apparent disinterest in the team.
Still, this could be one of those nights for Mbappe. He has always been a big-game player; one only has to look at the World Cup final in which he came alive to score an emphatic hat-trick that nearly ruined Lionel Messi’s fairy-tale Argentine ending.
If Barca can stifle him – or at least delay the misery he will look to impart on them in the years to come – then this could be a week to remember in Catalunya.