Why 2024 could be the year of PSG’s Kylian Mbappe with Euro, Olympics and Liverpool, Real Madrid interest

PARIS — Kylian Mbappe has crammed a lot into his first three days of 2024 with a new footwear range with Nike unveiled which was then baptized with its first goal in the 2-0 Trophee des Champions win over Toulouse on Wednesday — the France international’s first silverware of the year and a new record as Paris Saint-Germain’s top scorer at Parc des Princes with 111 goals. Not bad, especially when you consider that Mbappe entered the final six months of his current Parisien contract on the Monday while the incessant speculation linking him with Real Madrid has grown now that Liverpool’s name has been thrown into the mix. On Wednesday, Mbappe said he hasn’t made a decision but there is an agreement with PSG “so it means all parties are protected.”

“With the agreement the president and I reached this summer, whatever I decide, the club is protected ahead of the challenges to come — that is the most important thing. Back in 2022, I did not know all the way up until May. If I knew what I wanted to do, I should not drag things out. That would make no sense. Nobody at the club is talking about my situation as it interests nobody,” Mbappe said. 

Happy New Year indeed then after a winter break which came at an ideal moment for the 25-year-old — 12 months on from FIFA 2022 World Cup heartache and after the first part of a tricky season with PSG — with massive success for both club and country possibly just months away. The Trophee des Champions is not exactly high on Mbappe’s list of priorities these days but snapping it up does generate a winning habit at the earliest possible opportunity for both the French superstar and the Ligue 1 leaders who have already opened up a five-point lead at the Championnat summit.

With the Coupe de France getting underway for PSG this weekend when Luis Enrique’s troops take on minnows US Revel, the capital club have it all in front of them coming into this New Year with a UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie against Real Sociedad fast approaching in February. Les Parisiens might be expected to win both Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France but have found it tough to dominate domestically in the past few years while the Basque outfit are arguably one of the most favorable teams that PSG could have landed on the continental stage after a tight UCL group stage which briefly flirted with disaster.

At least two of those three potential titles and a seriously deep run in Europe for the first time in years could put Mbappe at the forefront of this year’s Ballon d’Or race with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo finally likely to step aside for a new star name to win the prestigious France-based honor. Much of the next 12 months is going to center around Mbappe’s homeland with Les Bleus favorites to win UEFA Euro 2024 in neighboring Germany this coming summer with the PSG man captain of his nation but the international fun is unlikely to stop there for him and his compatriots.

Thierry Henry’s French side for the Olympic Games in Paris is highly likely to feature Mbappe — especially if he stays in Paris given that part of his previous agreement included being eligible for the event — which raises the prospect of double international silverware in a matter of months. Regardless of a potential summer switch away from Parc des Princes to Real, Liverpool or somewhere else entirely, Mbappe’s Trophee des Champions success this midweek could have kicked off a six-trophy run of success for him should the best case scenario pan out between now and then.

It is an admittedly fanciful prospect but one that cannot be deemed impossible given where PSG are in their season right now and Mbappe pulling it off would not only surely secure him his coveted first Ballon d’Or but also rank him in one of the greatest ever individual sporting accomplishments. To secure the prize mostly based on achievements in French soccer and with the national team would bring the sort of statistical immortality that we have always assumed Mbappe would reach at some point in his glittering career — this could be the year that we witness part of that history playing out on the field.

With so much to look forward to in 2024 when considering what Mbappe could achieve with club and country, it could be the moment that he silences the critics who have long claimed that he will never be true Champions League or Ballon d’Or-winning material in Paris. He could prove to be both and ironically cap it all in the French capital before then potentially getting his overdue Real transfer anyway which is arguably the sort of legendary scenario that Mbappe has been positioning himself for and building up to since opting out of the final year of his PSG deal.