Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) Kylian Mbappe could be detrimental to the club if he goes to a team other than Real Madrid, according to a new report.
Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore wrote a piece for soccer publication CutOffside on Sunday (Aug. 17), arguing that “Mbappe’s departure (from Real) could disrupt the pecking order and affect the atmosphere in the locker room.”
“Perhaps the biggest reason Mbappe is heading to Real is to follow in the footsteps of the big clubs,” Collymore wrote, “to see if he can break the records set by the historical figures of those clubs.”
“Players don’t think they’re starting from the bottom when they move to another organization. Many players have dreams, like ‘I want to wear the number of a legendary player’ or ‘I want to score more goals than a legendary player’,” he continued, “and that’s why so many players come back to Real over time.”
However, in the case of Arsenal and Liverpool, both of which have been linked with Mbappe, it’s more about the harmony and unity between the players. Arsenal have largely purged their roster of veterans over the past few seasons in favor of younger or newer players, while Liverpool have been playing together for years and have a strong sense of camaraderie.
“If Liverpool or Arsenal want to get in the race for Mbappe, my advice is to stay away from him,” Collymore said, “He’s a superstar, but he’s going to break the system and he’s always going to be motivated to leave for another club, so it’s bound to affect the other players.”
In other words, other players would have to be sacrificed in order for Mbappe to break records or raise his price tag. Collymore also pointed out that Mbappe’s unchecked power and control over the squad at PSG makes this argument easy to understand.
“In the last few years, Mbappe has been very dominant at PSG, and I’m afraid that won’t go away and will affect the Arsenal squad now,” he said, adding, “If Mbappe comes to North London (Arsenal’s home town) and tries to show off his power, how will we deal with it?”
Real Madrid, on the other hand, he said, has a plethora of world-class players, which could diminish Mbappe’s dominance.
“Real have Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, (veteran and superstar) players,” Collymore said, “so Mbappe will just be another superstar on a 스포츠토토 superstar team.”
Collymore said the same is true for Liverpool. “Liverpool didn’t succeed under Jürgen Klopp by buying superstars, they succeeded by making superstars,” he said, adding that “it would be confusing for Mbappe to try and cement his position while a new manager is coming in (because Klopp is stepping down).”
Xabi Alonso is the favorite to take over at Liverpool, and while he’s been making waves in the German Bundesliga this season with Bayer Leverkusen, he’s still a young “sunshine” manager. As such, Alonso could struggle to control Mbappe if he were to take over.
Meanwhile, Mbappe raised eyebrows on Saturday when he informed the PSG hierarchy that he will be a free agent at the end of the season.
Furthermore, the seemingly unstoppable transfer speculation between Real and Mbappe has been clouded by the entry of Arsenal, Liverpool, and other clubs into the race for the player.