With Kylian Mbappé, everything seems written. The French striker entered a little more into the legend of Paris Saint-Germain, at only 24 years old, by becoming, on Saturday March 4, the club’s only top scorer.
This 201st goal, which allows him to overtake the Uruguayan Edinson Cavani, was scored in a stadium in fusion to ensure, with a pivot shot from the left, the victory in additional time against Nantes (4-2), during the 26th day of Ligue 1.
Mbappé has a sense of spectacle, he had equaled the 200 goals of the Uruguayan six days earlier by signing a spectacular double at the rival Marseille (3-0). He even broke the record with the captain’s armband on his arm, after the exit – grimacing – of Marquinhos.
The Parc des Princes also reserved a monster ovation for him, shouting his name seven times at the call of the announcer; seven as his jersey number.
Special for “a Parisian by birth”
“This goal comes at the last minute, and it’s beautiful, it’s beautiful”, he described just after the final whistle, at the microphone of Canal. “Playing here [in Paris] is a privilege, I had the chance to enjoy every moment, I progressed as a player, I changed a lot. I arrived, I was a young player, maybe talented but a young player, and as a man too, I learned a lot here,” continued the current top scorer in the league (18 goals ).
“For me, being a Parisian by birth is something special. If someone had told me that I would score with the captain’s armband to break the record, I wouldn’t have believed it! “, he said again, amused.
“I play to write history and I always said that I wanted to write history in France, in the capital of my country, in my city, I’m doing it, it’s magnificent, but it there is still a long way to go,” he acknowledged.
About fifteen minutes after the match, after returning to the locker room, Mbappé was honored on the lawn, in the center of a huge logo of the Parisian club, fireworks in support. He notably thanked “the supporters”, and announced that he wanted to go “always higher”, and that “it starts on Wednesday” in Germany.
Head already turned in Munich for the Champions League
“I’m already focused on Wednesday’s match (…) We’re going to Munich with a clear objective: we’re going there to qualify,” he added at a press conference. All Parisian supporters hope that with this thunderous form, the world champion will continue his quest for records at Bayern Munich.
PSG must reverse the defeat of the first leg at the Parc des Princes (1-0) – Mbappé, back from injury, had entered during the game – to see the quarter-finals of the C1. Two years ago, he scored twice at the Allianz Arena (3-2), a score that would take the two teams into extra time on Wednesday.
In the meantime, Mbappé – 247 games played in the Parisian jersey – is pursuing the club’s records with great strides. He has overtaken Cavani in five and a half seasons (since 2017), when the “Matador” took seven years to score his 200 goals. He scored 137 of his Parisian goals in Ligue 1, 34 in the Champions League, 27 in the Coupe de France, 2 in the Coupe de la Ligue and 1 in the Champions Trophy.
The former Monegasque is also climbing the hierarchy of top scorers in the history of the French Championship. He joins Jacky Vergnes (153 goals) in 18th place and he has Jean-Pierre Papin and his 156 goals in his sights. To surpass King Delio Onnis and his 299 goals, the Bondynois would have to stay several more seasons at PSG.
However, his contract runs until 2024, and the top scorer in the history of the World Cup finals with 4 goals – ahead of the 3 goals of Geoff Hurst (England), Pelé (Brazil) and Zinédine Zidane (France) – risks to have suitors this summer, one year from the end of his contract. Until then, the striker has the opportunity to write other glorious pages in the great book of Paris Saint-Germain.
