Hola Madrid, au revoir Paris: Kylian Mbappe's love-hate relationship with PSG

Kylian Mbappe is officially a Real Madrid player. The French superstar signed a five-year contract with the Champions League winners, ending his adventure with Paris Saint-Germain. Let's take a look back at the superstar's turbulent time in the French capital.

Having arrived from AS Monaco, Mbappe was just 19 when he joined the French capital club for a transfer fee of €180 million (£153m/$195m), the second-highest in history, according to Transfermarkt.

He joined Brazilian star Neymar, with whom he would work wonders in their first season. Mbappe scored in his first Ligue 1 match with PSG against Metz (5-1), according to Transfermarkt, and in his first Champions League match against Celtic (5-0). On 7 December 2017, he was ranked seventh in the Ballon d'Or, the highest French player, aged just 19.

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In 2018/19, the Frenchman got his season off to the best possible start by becoming world champion with Les Bleus, transforming himself into a global star.

That year, he came fourth in the Ballon d'Or and won the Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best young player under the age of 21. The Frenchman's popularity was almost unprecedented in France. In May, he was voted the best player in Ligue 1 and became the top scorer with 33 goals, according to Transfermarkt.

On 6 March 2019, after winning the first leg 2-0 in Manchester in the Champions League round of 16, PSG were eliminated 3-1 by United at the Parc des Princes. A terrible setback, for which Mbappe was seen as the main culprit. The striker missed numerous chances and was heavily criticised.

The 2019/20 season was plagued by Covid-19. In Ligue 1, Mbappe scored 18 goals in 20 games, according to Sofascore, but, more importantly, the Parisians looked set to fulfil an old PSG dream by reaching the Champions League final against Bayern. It was a heartbreaking match, which PSG lost 1-0, Mbappe missing another chance.

On 16 February 2021, in the last 16 of the Champions League, he scored a hat-trick at the Camp Nou, once again shocking the world. In the quarter-finals, he scored a brace against reigning champions Bayern to help Paris reach the semi-finals, where they lost to Manchester City.

In the summer of 2021, PSG recruited Lionel Messi, building a monstrous attack with Mbappe, Neymar and the Argentine. In the 2021/22 season, Mbappe took on a new dimension with a decisive goal in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid (1-0).

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In the return leg, he put in another benchmark performance and opened the scoring, but Karim Benzema scored a hat-trick in the second half to dash the Parisians' hopes. Another 'remontada' for the Parisians, another blow for Mbappe.

On 21 May 2022, Mbappe announced his two-year extension with PSG. The end of an endless soap opera.

PSG's 2022/23 season would prove to be a very complicated one. The Parisians were eliminated in the Champions League round of 16 by Bayern (3-0 on aggregate) and managed to win Ligue 1 by just a single point from RC Lens.

In June 2023, L'Équipe reported that Mbappe had told PSG in writing that he would honour his contract until it expired in June 2024, without activating the option for a further year.

On July 21, in response to this news, the club decided to leave the player out of the squad for their Japan tour and declared themselves prepared not to play him for the entire season. However, on 13 August 2023, the player was reintroduced, following an agreement with president Al-Khelaïfi that he would forgo bonuses of around €80 million (£68m/86,7$m) if he left, according to RMC Sport journalist Fabrice Hawkins.

The departures of Messi and Neymar and the arrival of Luis Enrique transformed the club, and the 2023/24 season was a convincing one. After eliminating Barça in the Champions League quarter-finals, PSG were knocked out by Dortmund in the semi-finals (2-0 on aggregate), with Mbappe a shadow of his former self.

On Friday, 10 May 2024, Mbappe announced via a video on his social media that he would not be continuing his adventure at Paris Saint-Germain. In an emotional message, he thanked the entire club before bidding farewell to the Parc des Princes against Toulouse on 12 May.

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