Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
In 2013, when 14 years old, Mbappé ignored the advances of Chelsea and Real Madrid and went to Monaco instead. Neymar chose to stay at Santos for at least one extra season, enabling his advisers to expand a lucrative local sponsorship portfolio, before joining Barcelona for the kind of fee which guaranteed it would be almost impossible to leave the recruit on the bench. But there the similitudes end. In Mbappé’s case, it was a decision which the player was involved in. In Neymar’s, even if he was happy enough to go along with his father’s decision, that decision was taken for him. And he finished the Champions League group stages as top scorer in the competition on seven goals by finding the net again versus Juventus on matchday six in a 2-1 win. He also got the assist for Nuno Mendes' winner.
A fan gives you enormous love,” says Mbappé carefully, “but sometimes maybe an excess of love, and he might not respect your intimacy. We give our lives to the people, because we give them pleasure every three days, and we give them our time. It’s impossible to hope for a normal life, but just a little respect for one’s private life isn’t too much to ask for, I think.” His scoring run continued against Ajaccio a week later as he bagged a pair of second-half goals as PSG won in a 5-0 romp. The former Monaco man's first was a scrappy goal from inside the box, yet the second could barely have been any different as he scored a stunning volley that underlined his qualities and sent the Corsican side into Ligue 2. Remarkably, and unlike what so many young gifted footballers have to endure, the plan Wilfried and Fayza had devised for their son involved no coercion, just gentle adjustments if and when needed. The more he could be himself, the better he would become, provided he kept a level head. When did not, Fayza, in particular, did not shy away from telling him off. Such as when he was overheard calling Neymar “a tramp” when he hadn’t passed the ball to him, one of the myriad storms to have stirred and shaken Paris Saint-Germain’s teacup since the Qatari sovereign fund QSI took control of the club. Prospective agents were given short shrift: to this day, the world’s most valuable footballer doesn’t have one. Likely to be a candidate for European Golden Shoe and Ballon d’Or glory, Mbappe’s performances should be closely watched this year. Mbappé marvelled at the tension on the faces of other professionals, because he didn’t feel it himself. Everything came easily to him, without great sacrifice, he has said. When I ask about stress in a profession of hypercompetitive men, he shrugs: “Daily life is easy.”He sat out the Coupe de France win against Chateauroux and the Ligue 1 clash against Angers and came on as a second-half sub in the 1-0 defeat at Rennes. Mbappé is thought to have been planning to join Real Madrid on a free transfer next summer, but the tone of PSG's reinstatement may prove otherwise. It is still unclear if he has agreed to sign an extension, but Real Madrid fans are livid. Some were hoping that a last-minute deal would be sorted this summer, but the player appears to have snubbed the Spanish giants once more in favour of his current club.
He played the full game against Benfica in Champions League matchday three without a goal contribution. He lives like a luxury prisoner, who cannot leave home without being mobbed. “It takes an organisation just to go out,” he says. He has joked that when his future children ask him about his youthful adventures, he won’t have any.Mbappe bagged a brace in his next game, sparing Paris' blushes to help secure a 4-3 win over Lille. Earlier this summer, Mbappe was dropped from the list of travelling players who joined PSG's pre-season tour of South Korea and Japan. Then, when the squad returned to training in Paris earlier this month, Mbappe was sent to train with the reserves and was even left to watch from the bench as PSG opened their Ligue 1 campaign against Lorient at the Parc des Princes on Saturday. He started 2023 on a negative note as PSG lost 3-1 in a top-of-the-table match against Lens, Mbappe failing to score or assist.
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