By Martin Graham
Kylian Mbappe has said he holds no resentment after Paris Saint-Germain lifted the Champions League trophy just months following his departure. The French striker, who left the club in July 2024 to join Real Madrid, had spent seven seasons in the French capital and became the club’s all-time leading scorer with 256 goals. Despite his individual success, European glory had always eluded him while at PSG.
On 31 May, PSG secured a dominant 5-0 victory over Inter Milan to claim their first-ever Champions League title. Although Mbappe had hoped to win the tournament with his former side, he insisted that his time with PSG had come to a natural end. “I don’t regret the timing of my exit. My chapter there was finished,” he said. “I gave everything I could, and fate decided it would happen without me.”
Speaking at a press conference ahead of France’s UEFA Nations League third-place play-off against Germany, Mbappe stated that he had no ill feelings about PSG’s success in his absence. “Their win doesn’t affect me emotionally. I was genuinely pleased for them—they earned it,” he explained. “They went through a lot of tough years. I was part of that journey, playing in every knockout round except the final win.”
He also praised PSG’s performance in the final. “It’s rare to witness such a one-sided scoreline in a major European final,” he said. The closest Mbappe came to continental success with PSG was in 2020, when they lost the final to Bayern Munich.
Meanwhile, his first season with Real Madrid ended without silverware, as the Spanish giants were eliminated by Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Still, the 26-year-old forward found personal success, finishing as the top scorer in La Liga with 31 goals and earning the European Golden Shoe.
