Paris Saint-Germain are now potentially just 90 minutes away from sealing the Ligue 1 title on Wednesday away at FC Lorient. Kylian Mbappe, who did not even come on as a substitute in last Sunday’s 4-1 Championnat thrashing of Olympique Lyonnais, might or might not feature at Stade du Moustoir. However, that will not necessarily be at the forefront of the French superstar’s mind at this stage of the season with a UEFA Champions League final now potentially just 180 minutes away.
Mbappe was not utilized by Luis Enrique against Lyon just days after he scored the two final goals in PSG’s 4-1 victory away at Barcelona which completed a 6-4 aggregate success in style which rivaled Remontada for drama. Ironically, especially where Mbappe is concerned, it was Real Madrid who completed Barca’s truly hellish week with a controversial success in El Clasico which now has the wounded Catalan giants bleating about VAR and a potential replay.
Paris and Real both face German opposition in their respective UCL semifinals with Luis Enrique’s side taking on Borussia Dortmund for the third and fourth time this campaign and Carlo Ancelotti’s Blancos facing off with Bayern Munich in a heavyweight continental tussle. The two ties could have a huge impact on the UEFA coefficient situation regarding an extra Champions League sport for either the Bundesliga or the Premier League. It also has a bearing on the narrative surrounding Mbappe’s future, though.
If PSG manage to dispose of Dortmund and Real successfully navigate Bayern, there is the scenario that Mbappe could come up against the club that he is expected to join in the near future while representing his current club for the chance to win France’s second-ever UCL crown. A potential final featuring the two is a bridge that should only be crossed if we get to it given the potential optics involved, but it would undoubtedly rank as one of the all-time endings to a lengthy saga if it plays out that way.
Should it go all the way to Wembley Stadium in London come June then there is major potential for Mbappe’s future to go pretty much down to the expiration date of his Parisien contract, which ends at the end of that month. UEFA Euro 2024 would already be underway then and head coach Didier Deschamps is unlikely to be amused by a continuation of speculation regarding his star man’s future given that it would be at fever pitch if it gets to that point.
The only scenario which likely avoids that lengthy extension to this already years-old story is if one of PSG and Real — or both given how unpredictable the Champions League is at the best of times — fall before the final. Should that happen, there is still the issue of Mbappe’s desire to play at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris which needs ironing out and that is not certain to be cleared up by the time the two semifinals have played out.
Despite the soccer that will be played in the coming weeks by PSG with and without Mbappe as Luis Enrique appears insistent on building for the future without the France captain, the thing that is certain is that his future is also playing out off the field too. A potential matchup between Paris and Real in the final would kick this on-off transfer into another stratosphere and perhaps that is the plot twist that the player and his entourage have been coveting this entire time regardless of these two massive clubs’ feelings on the matter.
