Former France international Nicolas Anelka has urged compatriot Kylian Mbappe to leave PSG amid strong interest from La Liga giants Real Madrid.
Writing in his column for The Athletic, former France striker Nicolas Anelka has called on Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe to secure a transfer away from his current club even as he continues to be linked heavily with a move to Real Madrid.
Mbappe’s future has been a hot topic of discussion for a while now as he enters the final year of his contract with PSG. Real Madrid are keen on signing him and are even said to have an agreement in place with the player over a move. Les Parisiens, however, have absolutely no intentions of letting their star man leave and remain keen on tying him down to a new deal.
Mbappe is currently smarting from a disappointing UEFA Euro 2020 during which he missed a crucial penalty in the shootout which sent France crashing out of the tournament at the Round of 16 stage against Switzerland. And Anelka, who has seen the highs and lows with the national team and played for some of the biggest clubs during his career, has urged the 22-year-old forward to take a call on his future soon.
The former striker claims that Mbappe needs to move to England or Spain in order to fulfil his ambitions of winning the Ballon d’Or. “You can’t say you compete with the best all the time when you are at PSG. The French league is not easy, don’t get me wrong, but I think the toughest league is in England.
“So, if you want to be one of the best, then do what you do in Paris but with Chelsea or United or Arsenal or Manchester City or Liverpool. Or go to Spain to Madrid or Barcelona. Or maybe Italy.”
Anelka then name checked Real Madrid as a potential destination for Mbappe, saying, “You have at least two choices — stay in Paris or move to Real Madrid. Both of them can win the Champions League these days. When I was at PSG, that wasn’t the case. That choice depends on what you want to achieve. If you want the biggest accolades, you will have to move from PSG at some point.”
“Whatever you do in Paris will be good, but somebody will always say, ‘well, you did great for PSG but it was only in France. The best leagues are in England and Spain, so you didn’t compete with the best players in the best league.’ If you want to win the Ballon d’Or, which is what you should be looking at to echo Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, you will have to compete with the best,” he added.
Whether Mbappe heeds the advice of his fellow countryman and decides to move from PSG in the coming weeks remains to be seen.
