The Parisians have a mountain to climb in order to advance to the final after suffering a 1-2 loss at home in the first leg semifinal of the Champions League against Manchester City.
Paris Saint Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino is unsure whether he can retain Kylian Mbappe at the club should they fail to win the Champions League this season.
The 2018 World Cup winner has just a year left in his current contract with PSG and has been on Real Madrid’s radar for quite a long period. Reports in France also claim that only a Champions League medal could retain Mbappe at the club with his entourage apparently searching for a house in Madrid. The Parisians have already lost the home advantage on Tuesday against Pep Guardiola’s men in the semifinal, and Mauricio Pochettino appeared to be sceptical about the forward’s future at the French capital.
“It’s a question for Kylian and not for me. We lost a game, but there is still the return leg, and weird things can happen in the Champions League,”
“He has one more year of contract. I said it before, but the club and I are doing our best to ensure that he stays for many years. The club is working on it, and Kylian Mbappe is happy with us.”
“We have one month of competition left to achieve the objectives set, and we are still in the race.”
Pochettino said before PSG’s Saturday’s clash with RC Lens.
Amid the Real Madrid speculations, Mbappe has also been linked with a move to the Premier League as Manchester United, Liverpool and Man City all keeping their tabs on the 22-year-old. And Pochettino himself confirmed that Mbappe had made queries about the country and its culture and that he often speaks to his coach in English.
“He asks about England – how is the game, the mentality and the culture there” he added.
“He’s only 22 but very mature, confident in his talent and open. He can speak French, of course, but also perfect English and Spanish. I speak in English and Spanish with him – more English than Spanish.”
The France international has been a phenomenon yet again in his fourth season at Paris. He found the net on 37 occasions in 43 matches in all competitions, including eight goals in 10 Champions League games and 25 goals in 29 Ligue 1 appearances. Along with Neymar, Mbappe has been PSG’s nucleus of success with their formidable partnership upfront. So after two second-half goals from City in midweek’s game, the Parisians will hope to upturn the result next Tuesday.
But unfortunately enough for Pochettino, the Parisians might have to adjust without Mbappe after the forward suffered a calf injury and will miss the fixture against Lens on Sunday.
“He has discomfort in his right calf, and we hope that is not serious and that he can come back soon. He is an important player for us,”
Pochettino stated.
But this isn’t the only time Mbappe has had injury issues this campaign. He missed PSG’s first three Ligue 1 games due to COVID, followed by a serious thigh problem in November. The latest injury also means that he has missed 43 days of action so far this season.
PSG are yet to release further information on how serious Mbappe’s injury is, and, in the final few weeks of the season, a potential loss of their talismanic striker could end the hopes of Champions League glory while also missing out on their tenth Ligue 1 title.
French top-flight football this season has been nothing but exhilarating, as the top three teams are separated by a single point from each other with just four games remaining. Lille occupy the first spot with 73 points, followed by PSG on second (72) and Monaco at third (71).
