Kylian Mbappe announces he is leaving PSG: French superstar leaves behind an unparalleled legacy as he begins a new chapter

The moment the football world has been waiting for has finally arrived: Kylian Mbappé has officially announced that he will leave PSG this summer after years of twists and turns in what developed into one of the longest transfer sagas in living memory. Although his final destination is officially unknown, it is widely believed that the France international will arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu in time for next season following the completion of UEFA Euro 2024 and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this summer. All that remains for Paris Saint-Germain is to play in the Coupe de France final for a chance to win their last piece of silverware in their home country.

What better place to start than looking at the legacy Mbappe leaves behind at the Parc des Princes.

PSG legacy

• 6x League 1
• 3/4x Coupé de France
• 3x Trophee des Champions
• 2x Coupé de la Ligue
• 1x UCL second

Mbappe leaves PSG as the French champions’ all-time top scorer in all club competitions with 255 goals and counting, after overtaking former teammate Edinson Cavani (200). The iconic number 7 is also the capital’s top scorer in Ligue 1 history with 174 goals. He leads the way in UEFA competitions (Champions League only) with 42 goals and also has a domestic cup best score of 39. Somewhat surprisingly, Mbappé ranks third in PSG’s all-time list for assists in all competitions on 96, with only Angel Di Maria doing better than his teammates, while his 22 UEFA assists lead the way.

Put that into modern statistical terms and the Bondy-born talent has amassed a staggering 351 decisive plays in Parisian colours, which is at least 116 better than anyone in the club’s history. Mbappe is also in the top 10 for all-time appearances, third for UEFA appearances and holds a variety of goals-related records, such as PSG’s fastest scorer (eight seconds), most goals in a match (five) and two UEFA hat-tricks . which is shared with Neymar, the only player in club history to cost more than Mbappe’s $194 million acquisition.

Ligue 1 legacy

• 7x Ligue 1 (PSG and Monaco together)
• 5/6x top scorer
• 4/5x Ligue 1 best player
• 3/4x best French player
• 2x best young player
• 1x top assistants

When you combine Mbappe’s Ligue 1 titles with PSG and Monaco, that’s seven out of eight possible domestic crowns since he made his senior debut in late 2015. His tally of 190 Championnat goals puts him seventh all-time with the closest recognizable and active name on the list being ASM’s Wissam Ben Yedder in 16th place at 160. Although he won’t stick around long enough to compete for a position in the top 10 performances of all time, he is just two titles short of Marquinhos and Marco Verratti. joint record of nine. In terms of modern figureheads and poster boys for French football, Mbappe is perhaps the strongest profile ever assembled on the domestic stage.

Les Bleus so far

• 1x World Cup
• 1x second place at the World Cup
• 1x UEFA Nations League
• 1x World Cup Golden Shoe
• 1x World Cup silver ball
• 1x World Cup Best Young Player
• 1x Kopa trophy

Should Les Blues win UEFA Euro 2024 and/or the Paris Olympics this summer, Mbappe will have won virtually everything possible at international level before he officially leaves France for Spain. Moreover, all he would win later this year would be to captain his country after Didier Deschamps named him Hugo Lloris’ replacement following the long-serving goalkeeper’s retirement after Qatar. While the appetite to add a second World Cup from 2026 is undoubtedly there, Mbappe has already secured one of the titles that many of his rivals for future individual glory might never get the chance to call their own. The Olympic Games on home soil are as unique an opportunity as they come and his desire to participate in the Games is understandable: “My position has not changed,” Mbappé said a few days ago on a Nike event. “The truth is also that it is not my gift. My gift is PSG. Now that I am speaking here, I do not think much about the Olympic Games, but my official position on it has not changed.”

Next La Liga?

What comes next is logically a continuation of his pursuit of the individual trophies that have eluded him thus far, with Real Madrid by far his most likely landing spot. The French superstar could follow in George Weah’s footsteps and be another player to be crowned a Ballon d’Or winner after leaving PSG, where most of the work has been done at club level. Compatriots Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema have set the bar extremely high in that regard, even though Zizou’s Ballon d’Or victory came with Juventus and not Los Blancos. True and bitter rivals Barcelona have 12 Ballon d’Or wins each, although Barcelona have six different winners to their Madrid rivals’ eight. Can Mbappé break this deadlock in the near future? That will certainly be part of his thoughts as Carlo Ancelotti’s side need no help securing domestic success after securing their 36th La Liga title this weekend. However, a poor season for Spanish clubs in Europe has seen the Italian Serie A overtake La Liga in the UEFA coefficient, so Mbappé’s desire for individual recognition has been almost exclusively limited to Real and Barcelona players, apart from Lionel Messi’s two Argentina-inspired titles with PSG and then Inter Miami — is perfectly timed.