Kylian Mbappe has denied he has already decided to join Real Madrid at the end of the season.
The Paris Saint-Germain striker spoke about what the future might hold after his fine strike put the seal on a 5-1 win over Lille in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
German newspaper Bild recently reported Mbappe and Madrid had reached an agreement that would see the France international move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Mbappe's contract at PSG is due to expire at the end of the season, and although the French club are keen for him to sign an extension, it is unclear whether that is under consideration. Madrid's interest is no secret, after they tried to sign Mbappe in August.
The 23-year-old Mbappe would be able to leave on a free transfer, but the fact PSG have drawn Madrid in the Champions League last-16 stage appears to have held up any direct talks.
The European giants will go head to head in Paris on February 15 and in Madrid on March 9, with Mbappe steadfast that he wants to help PSG win that tie.
Asked whether he has already decided his next step, or whether the Madrid game could influence his choice of club, Mbappe told Amazon Prime Sport Video: "No, my decision hasn't been taken.
"The fact we play against Real Madrid, that changes a lot of things. Even if I'm free to do what I want at the moment, I'm not going to go and talk with the opposition or do this sort of thing.
"I'm concentrated on winning against Real Madrid, to try to make the difference. And after that, we'll see what will happen."
Mbappe and Lionel Messi are striking up a strong on-pitch relationship, with Messi looking to find Mbappe 12 times during the win at Lille and Mbappe playing eight passes to the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, only seeking out Marco Verratti more often (10 passes).
Messi scored his second Ligue 1 goal and his first since November, ending a six-game drought in the competition, delivering a performance that might cause concern in Madrid.
He also played a more central role than has often been the case, and Mbappe, who took his league haul to a team-high 11 goals for the campaign, liked what he saw from the former Barcelona star.
"I'm not a coach. But Leo, he's a player who needs to touch the ball, to feel the game and the match, to be involved too," Mbappe said.
"So I think it's a good position for him. He's free, he can move, pick up the ball, he is close to the goal. I think that for him, it's a good position."
Mbappe is starting on the left of a front three, with the only worry from Sunday's match being that Angel Di Maria, who began on the right, was substituted shortly before half-time, having seemed uncomfortable.
Neymar will soon be back from injury, and Mbappe said: "We will also have to configure with Ney, because he is also an important player. He changes our team, so we'll see when he comes back. We hope he comes back as soon as possible."
Yamal: Reaching Messi's level will be 'impossible'
Lamine Yamal said that it would be impossible to reach Lionel Messi’s level during his career, despite having been through an incredible breakout season.
The 17-year-old made 37 league appearances for Barcelona last season and was thrust further into the public eye as he helped Spain win Euro 2024 in Germany.
Yamal, who was 16 for much of the tournament having celebrated his birthday before the final, swept the boards at the competition, winning Young Player of the Tournament, Goal of the Tournament and was also named in the Team of the Tournament.
The teenage sensation also laid on four assists in seven appearances over the summer and has made a decent start to the 2024-25 season as one of Barcelona’s main men.
In four LaLiga appearances, he has scored once and supplied four assists, with his 11 chances created a total only bettered by team-mate Raphinha (12) and Vinicius Junior (15) in the division.
Such form and media attention has led to inevitable comparisons with footballing legend Messi, who made his competitive debut for Barcelona at 17.
The Argentine went on to score over 600 goals for the club across 17 seasons, winning 34 trophies, while he came to be widely considered as one of the greatest footballers of all time.
But Yamal has been quick to reject the comparison between himself and his Argentinian predecessor, claiming that although he enjoys the comparisons, it is not possible to reach the standards he set.
“I like that they compared me to the greatest player in the history of football, but I want to be myself,” Yamal told Spanish TV station Antena 3.
“Reaching Messi’s level is impossible.”
Despite Yamal’s understandable suggestion that he will be unable to reach the same heights as Messi, the winger still showed his self-confidence in the interview.
Somewhat bizarrely, he was pictured as a six-month old baby with Messi in a charity calendar in 2007, with photos having since gone viral.
Speaking about the experience, the teenager joked that he was able to pick up some of his footballing ability through Messi.
“He passed along some of his powers to me. I still have a lot to give,” said Yamal.
Despite being just 17 years old, Yamal has already played 55 times for Barcelona and, having made such an impression on world football over summer, interest from other clubs is an inevitability.
Yamal’s contract with Barcelona runs until 2026, with a reported release clause of £1bn, while sporting director Deco is keen to renew it when he turns 18.
But the teenager has made clear that he has no desire to leave the Catalan giants, wanting to remain with them for the rest of his career.
“I don’t want those €120m [bids] because then I would have to leave Barca,” said Yamal.
“I hope to never have to leave. I want to be a legend.”
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Ahli: Toney denied winning start by late own goal
A Bassam Al-Hurayji own goal in the 100th minute of the match handed Al-Nassr a 1-1 draw against Al-Ahli and denied Ivan Toney a winning start to life in Saudi Arabia.
Franck Kessie looked to have won all three points for Al-Ahli with a wonderful effort from the outside of the box after 57 minutes, but Al-Nassr's pressure was rewarded late on when Al-Hurayji diverted Sultan Alghannam's cross into his own net.
The home side started the match well, with Sadio Mane seeing an early effort cleared off the line and Marcelo Brozovic testing Edouard Mendy from distance, but they were unable to find a way through in the first half.
Kessie had gone close just after the break, dragging his shot wide of the far post, but he was not to be denied a second time. He met a pullback on the edge of the box, opening his foot to send a wonderful effort into the top-left corner.
But Cristiano Ronaldo's side kept probing, with Talisca deflecting a shot wide of the far post before they eventually got on the scoresheet thanks to Al-Hurayji's attempted block.
Data Debrief: Al-Nassr continue scoring streak - just
After scoring in the closing stages, with a bit of luck, Al-Nassr have now scored in their last 22 Saudi Pro League matches, a feat which has not been achieved since March-December 2017, with the final match in that sequence also being against Al-Ahli.
Furthermore, they are now unbeaten in their last six matches against Al-Ahli, which equals the longest unbeaten streak in the fixture - their opponents once went six games unbeaten between 2011 and 2013, winning three and drawing three.
Vinicius backed to return to best form by Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti is unconcerned about Vinicius Junior's current form and fully expects him to bounce back quickly as they prepare to face Real Sociedad.
Vinicius has scored once and registered one assist in LaLiga so far this season, while he has created 15 chances, the most of any of his team-mates.
However, he has been criticised for a slow start to the season with Madrid, and for lacklustre performances for Brazil in a narrow win over Ecuador and a shock loss to Paraguay during the international break.
Ancelotti acknowledged that Vinicius has yet to hit the heights of his previous seasons, but stressed that the player needs support.
"He's not at his best, but he's still very important for us," Ancelotti told a press conference on Friday.
"We're in no hurry because the team has managed to score, and he has been important... and the last concern for me is Vinicius' condition, but we have to take good care of him.
"He always works well, and it's a matter of just time for him to reach his best level. I can't fool myself into thinking that I'll have all players at 100% at all times.
"I don't want to go into his problems in Brazil, but what I see is a more general issue, because they are not managing to bring out their best version as a group.
"Here we are delighted with Vinicius because although he is not at his best right now, no one can forget that with Vini, we have been able to win two Champions League titles... We have to be very fond of him at Madrid."
Ancelotti said that he will have to evaluate the fitness of Vinicius and his Brazil team-mates Rodrygo and Endrick after a long trip back from international duty, in order to minimise the risks of injury as his side gear up for a busy schedule with seven games in the next three weeks.
The Italian will face a selection headache ahead of Saturday's clash at La Real with defender David Alaba and midfielders Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Ceballos and Aurelien Tchouameni still recovering from injuries.
"With the way the calendar is built, we will have injuries, it is just the way it is, so rotating is a good thing," Ancelotti added.
"We are used to playing that many games but need to be vigilant in monitoring the players' fatigue so they can rest when they need.
"The players who have just come back from the international break, like Vinicius, Rodrygo and Endrick, who had long travels with Brazil, are under observation because they haven't had time to rest or train.
"We have to try to avoid injuries. Last year we had a lot of injuries, but we managed to cope very well. With this schedule, it's normal to have injuries, and we have to face it."
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