Mbappe Backs Dembele To Become Ligue 1's Best Player After His Departure
Kylian Mbappe has expressed confidence in his Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) team-mate Ousmane Dembele to step up when he leaves the club. This statement comes after Mbappe secured his fifth consecutive Ligue 1 Player of the Year award. The France captain announced last week that he will exit the Ligue 1 champions at the end of this season, marking the end of a seven-year tenure during which he became PSG's all-time top scorer with 256 goals.
Mbappe has been linked with a high-profile transfer to LaLiga champions Real Madrid, but he has not disclosed his future plans. Regardless of where he goes next, the 25-year-old believes Dembele, who joined from Barcelona last August, is well-equipped to fill his shoes. Dembele has made a significant impact in his first French top-flight season, recording the joint-most assists with eight.
"I have shared and played with incredible players, like Dembele who is here. He is a friend and one day he will pick up this award," Mbappe said at the ceremony where he extended his record haul of Player of the Year titles. "I thank the club as a whole, the coach who has helped me and trusted me, his staff, the doctors, all the people at the club, the sporting management, the president, and the shareholders of the club. I have always tried to do my best."
Mbappe added that he is now ready to turn a new page in his life. "Everything that comes next is super exciting, but that's another subject," he noted. He also mentioned that it was crucial for him to make history in Ligue 1 before leaving, fulfilling a wish of his father. "I think that, with humility, I have done everything [he] wanted," Mbappe concluded.
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