PSG Star Shares Bold Kylian Mbappé Take While Chasing Prestigious Ballon d’Or Honor | OneFootball

The first season without Kylian Mbappé has gone better than many expected for PSG, with the team thriving after the star forward joined Real Madrid. The Parisians are 90 minutes away from winning their first ever UEFA Champions League trophy, which was unfathomable last year when Mbappé left.

PSG have already secured the Ligue 1 title and the Coupe de France, and only a UEFA Champions League final win over Inter Milan remains to complete a historic treble.

If the capital club pull it off, many will wonder how the squad improved after losing its all-time leading goal scorer. One player who has benefited from the 2018 World Cup winner’s departure is Ousmane Dembélé, who has emerged as a surprise contender in the Ballon d’Or race.

Kylian Mbappé remains respected at PSG

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On Friday, ahead of the Champions League final, Dembélé and sidestepped the question regarding whether the departure of Mbappé has allowed him into the player that he’s now this season.

“No, maybe with Mbappé we would be even stronger this season,” Dembélé said (h/t Paris Fans). “We don’t know what would have happened. Mbappé had a dream in his career—to play for Real Madrid—and Paris Saint-Germain kept moving forward. There was a before and after Kylian. We wish him good luck and we’re mainly focused on ourselves and the season we wanted to have.”