Mbappe gets ready to say goodbye as PSG digest Champions League exit

Published at : 09 May 2024, 10:13 pm
Mbappe gets ready to say goodbye as PSG digest Champions League exit
Photo: Collected

Kylian Mbappe is set to play his last game for Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes when they host Toulouse on Sunday, in their first outing since being eliminated from the Champions League, reports AFP.

PSG's hunt for elusive European glory will go on into another year after they went out in the semi-finals to Borussia Dortmund, a 1-0 loss in Tuesday's second leg at home sealing a surprise 2-0 aggregate defeat.

It means Mbappe will not get the send-off he had hoped for in the Champions League final at Wembley on June 1 and will end his seven-year spell at PSG without ever having won Europe's elite club competition.

Mbappe informed PSG privately in February of his intention to depart when his contract expires at the end of the current campaign.

The 25-year-old has never said as much publicly though, far less confirmed where he will be going next, but it appears certain that he is bound for Real Madrid.

In the meantime, Mbappe and his current club will hope to finish the season on a high, with PSG still able to complete a clean sweep of domestic honours.

They have already secured the Ligue 1 title, their 10th in the last 12 seasons, and will pick up the trophy after Sunday's game against mid-table Toulouse, which will be their last of the campaign on home turf.

PSG, who have also won the Champions Trophy, France's equivalent of a Super Cup, will then meet Lyon in the French Cup final in Lille on May 25.

"Not everything is to be chucked in the bin. We still have objectives and a French Cup final to come," Mbappe told reporters after the Dortmund defeat.

"We are going to keep working. We will try to win that final and then we will assess how the season went, what was good and what was not so good."

Mbappe did not find the net in either leg of the Dortmund tie but has scored 43 goals in all competitions this season, with 26 of those coming in Ligue 1.

He will still hope to add to his club-record tally of 255 goals for PSG and win another medal in that Cup final -- Mbappe has so far won six Ligue 1 titles, three French Cups and the now defunct League Cup twice in his seven years at his hometown team.

After Sunday's game, PSG will complete their league campaign with away matches at Nice and at relegation-threatened Metz, before Mbappe wraps up his career at the club in that Cup final. 

Player to watch: Thijs Dallinga

The Dutch poacher has built on an impressive first campaign in French football by netting 18 goals in all competitions this season for Toulouse. 

Dallinga, 23, made his debut for the Netherlands in November and will be hoping for a call-up for Euro 2024. An impactful performance against PSG this weekend will do his chances no harm and may help convince other clubs to approach Toulouse with a bid during the summer.

Key stats

6 - Mbappe is set to end the season as Ligue 1's top scorer for the sixth successive year

6 - Monaco are on the verge of qualifying for the Champions League to end a six-year absence from the competition

6 - Lorient have suffered six straight defeats, and a seventh on the bounce this weekend could be enough to relegate them

Fixtures (all kick-offs 1900 GMT)

Friday

Brest v Reims, Nice v Le Havre

Sunday

Clermont v Lyon, Marseille v Lorient, Montpellier v Monaco, Nantes v Lille, Paris Saint-Germain v Toulouse, Rennes v Lens, Strasbourg v Metz


MSH

Mushfiqur to play for Fortune Barishal in BPL 2024

Published at : 24 September 2023, 03:42 pm
Mushfiqur to play for Fortune Barishal in BPL 2024

Bangladeshi wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim is set to feature for Fortune Barishal in the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

 

Mushfiqur had played for Sylhet Strikers in the last edition. His price was fixed at 80 lakhs in the players' draft according to the category. Which means he was in 'A' category.

The top category player will play along with other star players like Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Khaled Ahmed in Fortune Barishal.

Neymar quits PSG to sign for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal

Published at : 20 September 2023, 05:06 pm
Neymar quits PSG to sign for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal

Neymar said he was relishing “new challenges and opportunities in new places” after he joined Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal Tuesday, becoming the latest big name lured to the oil-rich Gulf state.

The Brazil forward, 31, ends a six-year stay in the French capital and follows in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane in swapping Europe for the Middle East.

“I have achieved a lot in Europe and enjoyed special times, but I have always wanted to be a global player and test myself with new challenges and opportunities in new places,” Neymar said in a statement from the Saudi Pro League.

“I want to write new sporting history, and the Saudi Pro League has tremendous energy and quality players at the moment,” he added.

Neymar ‘in negotiations’ over Saudi move as Mbappe returns to PSG good books

Published at : 20 September 2023, 05:05 pm
Neymar ‘in negotiations’ over Saudi move as Mbappe returns to PSG good books

Neymar was “in negotiations” on Sunday to become the latest football superstar to decamp for Saudi Arabia, leaving Paris Saint-Germain just as Kylian Mbappe was brought back in from the cold by the French champions.

A source close to PSG told AFP that 31-year-old Neymar “no longer figures in the club or manager’s plans” with the Brazilian immediately linked to Al-Hilal in the Gulf kingdom.

Another source in Saudi Arabia said that “direct negotiations” between Neymar’s agents and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) were ongoing.

PSG get better of Dortmund in Champions League opener

Published at : 20 September 2023, 05:03 pm
PSG get better of Dortmund in Champions League opener

Paris Saint-Germain got their Champions League campaign off to a winning start on Tuesday as a Kylian Mbappe penalty set them up for a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund at the Parc des Princes.

The French champions had dominated the first half without overly troubling the Dortmund defence, but they went ahead four minutes after the break when Mbappe scored a spot-kick awarded for a Niklas Suele handball.

Achraf Hakimi added a memorable second, and PSG could have won the Group F encounter by a far more handsome margin in the end.

The result immediately puts them in control of the group, after AC Milan and Newcastle United drew 0-0 earlier, and coach Luis Enrique will hope they can build on this performance when they visit the English side next in a fortnight.

"It was an almost perfect evening," said Luis Enrique.