EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

PSG Legend and fellow countryman Nicolas Anelka’s advice to Mbappe

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Nicolas Anelka has advised Kylian Mbappe that he must exit the Parc de Princes if he wants to win major honours. Mbappe joined Paris Saint Germain in 2017. Mbappe has, however, not yet agreed on a contract extension at the French giants. He has been on the radar of Real Madrid and Liverpool for a while now.

Anelka was a centre-forward for Paris Saint Germain. He has two separate spells at the club. During his time, he amassed 19 goals in 69 appearances.

Writing in an open letter for The Athletic, Anelka says, “If you want the biggest accolades, you must 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.”

Anelka feels that if Mbappe wants to stand at winning the Ballon d’Or, he must compete with the best. Not at downplaying the competitiveness of the Ligue 1, Anelka regards the English Premier League as the toughest.

Mbappe proved himself as a global star in the 2018 World Cup. His four goals were instrumental in France winning the tournament and being crowned world champions.

Mbappe has spent four seasons at Paris. He boasts an impressive 132 goals in 171 games for PSG. During this time, he formed a deadly partnership with teammate Neymar. Despite the duo racking up goals for the team, he was not able to deliver the required results. PSG were not able to clinch their first ever Champions League Trophy and lost the Ligue 1 title to Lille last season.

At Euro 2020, Mbappe has been far from his best. He has failed to find the back of the net even once. Didier Deschamps’ men crashed out of the tournament in the last 16 to Switzerland on penalties last week.

Mbappe was the only player to miss in the shootout, bringing an end to an underwhelming tournament.

Going back, Anelka has missed the deciding penalty in Chelsea’s loss to Manchester United in the Champions League Final (2008). Mbappe now shares the same fate. Both players will now bear the “scar” of such defeats.

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