Kylian Mbappe: French sports minister pleads for star to stay in France with PSG

Links persist with Real Madrid and Liverpool among the clubs reportedly interested in signing him this summer

PSG striker Kylian Mbappe (AFP via Getty Images)

French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu has urged Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe to keep playing in France after his Champions League hat-trick this week reignited speculation that he could move abroad.

“Kylian, stay in France, we want to be able to see you continue to play like that,” Maracineanu told France Info radio on Friday.

Mbappe, who won the 2018 World Cup with the French national team while still a teenager, scored a stunning hat-trick as the Qatari-owned PSG thrashed Barcelona 4-1 away in their Champions League last-16 first leg on Tuesday.

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The 22-year-old became the first player to net a treble away to Barcelona in Europe’s elite competition since Dynamo Kyiv’s Andriy Shevchenko in November 1997, the year before Mbappe was born.

His performance sparked more speculation that he might eventually leave France’s Ligue 1 for Spain’s LaLiga or England’s Premier League, which are typically considered bigger and more prestigious championships.

Reuters