In the end, Kylian MbappéThe farewell to the Parc des Princes echoed his time at Paris Saint-Germain.
There was one more goal, another trophy and one more step towards another record: the first player in the history of French football to win the top flight's Golden Boot in six consecutive seasons.
The club's ultras set up a tifo in the Auteuil stands before the start of the match to honor his legacy: an image of his characteristic celebration, with his arms crossed. There was also a banner that said: “Child from the Parisian suburbs, you became a PSG legend.”
But this match was not a complete celebration of his seven years in Paris. Yes, there were songs praising him, but also some boos and whistles before kickoff when his name was read. The night would end with a trophy, but also with a loss to Toulouse, PSG's second defeat of the campaign. Luis Enrique described it as his worst performance of the season.
😳 The whistles from the Parc des Princes when Kylian Mbappé's name is announced.#PSGTFC pic.twitter.com/FOhSczZEPQ
– Prime Video Sport France (@PVSportFR) May 12, 2024
Considering the impact Mbappé has had on PSG, his farewell was disappointing. The main focus of the night was on winning the title rather than saying goodbye to Mbappé. PSG celebrated its twelfth victory in Ligue 1, an achievement that sheds light on the top of French football, now two ahead of Marseille and Saint-Etienne. It was also the club's 50th trophy. He was greeted with a dazzling party, orchestrated by the famous Parisian composer Thomas Roussel.
Mbappé's announcement made in a four-minute video on Friday via their social media channels, it was too short for much more. There was no statement from the competitor or publication from the club. They were taken by surprise.
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But Mbappé could not leave PSG without clarification before the club's last home game of the season. The weeks of hints about his future couldn't last any longer than that. He has not revealed his destination, which everyone in Paris expects to be Real Madrid, but he did confirm that, this time, it is really a goodbye.
How he would be received by the Parc des Princes, for the last time, would always be a point of attention. Would the fans cheer him on? At first glance, not praising the club's top scorer may seem far-fetched, but this is PSG and this is Mbappé, and the last seven years of off-field drama were unlikely to have no impact.
hThis farewell video had hints of that; Mbappé thanked almost everyone at the club, including all of his former coaches. However, there was no reference to club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi or former sporting director Antero Henrique.
Kylian Mbappé and the PSG team celebrate their Ligue 1 title (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)
Only last season will have contributed to this. After informing the club that he wanted to leave at the end of his contract, instead of activating an option to extend it for another year, PSG told him that he had to extend his contract or be sold. he was then unceremoniously thrown into the 'bomb squad'the group of undesirables included on the transfer list, and was excluded from the club's pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea.
It was just the last episode of the Mbappé-PSG soap opera. In 2022, he seemed set to sign for Real Madrid, but he made a U-turn and signed a lucrative contract. A year earlier, the summer was dominated by speculation about his future. Much of his time at the club has felt, to some extent, like a very long goodbye. That can be exhausting.
The brilliance of Kylian Mbappé
It is possible that Mbappé was aware of this. On Friday, after the video of his announcement, Mbappé attended a barbecue with the club's ultras at the Parc des Princes. From the outside it seemed like an act of good will before his departure. Last season, Mbappé was part of a team that was disrupted when receiving its Ligue 1 title medals, but he avoided the worst and their relationship has been rebuilt over time.
Throughout this season, the ultras have not booed him, despite off-field speculation. On Sunday, there were some loud whistles before the start of the match, but after full time, during the lifting of the trophy, the announcer of the day, Michel Montana, gave him three insults. There was also the typhoid after the warm-up. Mbappé went up to greet the ultras and saw how they raised the tifo in front of him. He was accompanied by Mbappé chants.
A giant tifo representing Mbappé rises before the start of the match last night (Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images)
It was appropriate because, despite everything, PSG will still remember him as the best Parisian in their history. He was born in Bondy, just outside Paris, and returned to the capital to break numerous records with the club, all before his 26th birthday.
His goal against Toulouse took him to 256 for the club, extending his position as the club's all-time leading scorer. With PSG, he is also the one with the most goals in Europe, the most hat-tricks, the most doubles and the most goals in a single game (five). He has helped France win the World Cup, scored in consecutive World Cup finals, including a hat-trick, won the tournament's Golden Boot and gone on to become captain of the national team.
That is his sporting legacy and the fans will also remember him for all that. His goal on Sunday was a prime example, with a burst of incomprehensible pace combined with sublime control and an ice-cold finish, but he also played in an era at PSG that will not be remembered as favorably.
Mbappé celebrates his last league goal for PSG, against Toulouse (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)
It has been a moment of politics, of player power and, fundamentally, of unfulfilled ambitions for the club in the Champions League. It is a period that ended in disillusionment, a feeling defined by the fan protests last summer, which is now beginning to dissipate as the club moves away from superstar players towards a new era and a new identity.
In time, Mbappé will surely be remembered more fondly, possibly as their greatest talent and an icon of the club.
However, right now PSG and its fans are eager to start a new chapter.
Fans will fondly remember his greatness but, as Sunday illustrated, memories of the noise off the field will endure. The feeling that greeted his farewell is not entirely affectionate.I hope all of that has been achieved.
(Top photo: Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)
