LILLE, May 26 — Kylian Mbappe said he was proud to leave Paris Saint-Germain with his “head held high” after winning Saturday’s French Cup final, but said he would wait for the right time to confirm where he will be playing next season.
“To finish with a trophy in a final, there is no better way. It feels really good,” Mbappe told reporters after PSG beat Lyon 2-1 in the final in the northern city of Lille.
Mbappe’s contract is now up and he recently confirmed he would leave at the season’s end, with Real Madrid expected to be his next destination, even if neither he nor the Spanish giants have made any announcement.
“All I wanted was to end things well with my club, with a trophy. I think there is a time for everything and I will announce my future club in good time,” he said.
“I think it will be in a few days so there is no problem.
“I don’t know when yet. There are still some details (to be sorted out) but the most important thing was to finish on a high here,” added Mbappe, who will team up in the coming days with the France squad to prepare for Euro 2024.
Mbappe did not score in Saturday’s game and so leaves his hometown team with a club-record tally of 256 goals from 308 appearances.
Ousmane Dembele and Fabian Ruiz netted for PSG, who held on for the victory after Irishman Jake O’Brien pulled a goal back for Lyon in the second half.
Luis Enrique’s team, who lost to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals, therefore end the campaign with a domestic league and cup double.
Mbappe joined PSG from Monaco in August 2017 in a stunning €180-million deal and departs after winning six Ligue 1 titles, four French Cups and two League Cups, as well as helping his team reach the Champions League final in 2020.
“There are only good memories and now I can go out with my head held high, with a trophy as well, so I will only remember the positives,” he said.
He admitted that he spent a lot of time thinking ahead of kick-off about the fact he would never play for PSG again as he brings to an end a seven-year spell with the club he joined as a teenager.
“With the protocol before a Cup final you have a lot of waiting around and so there is a lot of time to think, and the last thing a footballer needs to be doing is thinking,” said the 25-year-old.
“You think and so all the memories start to come back. There is all the nostalgia, and the thought that in 90 minutes it will all be over.
“It was difficult but great fun at the same time.” — AFP
