Antonio Rüdiger promises to ‘smash’ future Real Madrid teammate Kylian Mbappé | OneFootball

It is thought that only one thing is holding up the officialisation of Kylian Mbappé’s (25) move to Real Madrid and that is the fact that his current club, Paris Saint-Germain, could yet face Los Blancos in the UEFA Champions League final.

It is a potentially spectacular narrative; Mbappé, in his last game for PSG, fulfils his dream by helping his hometown club lift the Champions League trophy, at the expense of the club that he is expected to join just weeks later. There is now little doubt that the France captain will leave PSG to join Real Madrid in the summer.

Having informed Les Parisiens president Nasser Al-Khelaifi that he would not be extending his current deal, which expires at the end of the season, PSG have been preparing for life without Mbappé. Manager Luis Enrique has been very public with this, stating that the Ligue 1 champions would have to “get used to playing without Mbappé sooner or later”. As a result, Mbappé has played a more peripheral role in Ligue 1 in recent weeks.

However, he remains the main man in the Champions League. Should PSG and Real Madrid both reach the final of the competition, it will be Antonio Rüdiger’s (31) job to keep his potential future teammate quiet at Wembley. In typical Rüdiger style, the German is relishing the challenge.

“If we play Mbappé in the final, we will beat him, if Mbappé passes me, I will smash him,” Real Madrid centre-back Rüdiger told Le Média Carré. Whilst the pair may soon be teammates, that is not yet the case, and should they face off in the Champions League final, it will be clear that Mbappé is not a Real Madrid player… yet.

GSFN | Luke Entwistle