Kylian Mbappe will grow a lot with Lionel Messi at Paris Saint-Germain, reveals Pauleta
Paris Saint-Germain legend Pauleta, who scored 109 goals for the French club during his playing days has revealed that Kylian Mbappe can grow in the presence of Lionel Messi. Messi left Barcelona for Paris on a free transfer over the summer as he looked to further his legacy in new surroundings.
Kylian Mbappe has been advised by Pauleta that the Frenchman may have to share the spotlight with Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi as the French club added the Argentine to their attack this summer. Mbappe was heavily linked to a transfer to the Santiago Bernabeu in the final weeks of the transfer window which ultimately did not materialize.
The 22-year-old joined the French outfit in the summer of 2017 from Monaco on a loan deal which was made permanent the following season for a fee of €145 million-plus €35 million in add-ons. The Frenchman has scored 135 goals and provided 63 assists for his teammates in 175 appearances across all competitions for the Parus-based club. Mbappe has helped the team win three Ligue 1 titles and three Coupe de France cups to date since joining PSG.
The World Cup winner might have to accept the risk of scoring less when playing with Messi and Neymar this season according to Pauleta.
"He will have to adapt but he will grow a lot with Lionel Messi at Paris Saint-Germain. If he has the intelligence to move well, taking advantage of the spaces created by Messi and Neymar, he will often find himself in a good situation, thanks to their quality of passing and he will therefore be able to score many goals,” Pauleta told Ligue 1’s official website.
"The fact that he can play either on the side or in the middle will be an asset. That said, there is always a risk that one of the three will score less. If that's the case for Kylian, he'll have to accept it," he added.