Kylian Mbappé (24), then an AS Monaco wunderkind, rejected the chance to join Arsenal in the summer of 2017 in favour of Paris Saint-Germain, according to a report from L’Équipe.
The outlet has produced a piece on Les Parisiens’ quest to lift the Champions League, one of the very few major trophies that eludes the 2018 World Cup winner and 2021 Nations League winner. Mbappé will lead Les Parisiens’ line tonight at the Allianz Arena and hope to overturn a one-goal deficit against Bayern Munich in their Champions League last 16 second leg. Consecutive exits at this stage of the competition would be a crushing blow for Christophe Galtier’s side.
It is no secret by now that Mbappé’s future at PSG is closely related to the club’s capacity to win Europe’s showpiece competition. Despite some crushing setbacks over the years in the Champions League, like losing the final in 2020 or early exits in 2019 or last year, Mbappé is convinced his time will come. Furthermore, beating Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 141 goals in the Champions League is on his mind.
Mbappé’s first-ever goal in the Champions League was against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the last 16 stage when he was 18. The following summer, European powerhouses were keeping tabs on him, including Arsenal. But, according to L’Équipe, Mbappé “barely considered” the Gunners’ approach for a simple reason – they didn’t qualify for the 2017-2018 Champions League. He ended up moving to PSG in a €180m deal and became their record goalscorer with 201 strikes last week.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
