Mbappe hopes to ruin Barcelona's Messi pursuit

Stuart Telford

• 23 Apr 2023 11:19 BST
• 3 min read

Kylian Mbappe is desperate to see Lionel Messi stay at Paris Saint-Germain this summer amid reports that the Argentine World Cup winner is nearing a return to Barcelona on a free transfer.

Mbappe and Messi have grown close in the two seasons since the latter joined PSG on a free, with Barcelona unable to offer him a new contract as they wrestled with a €1.35 billion debt.

Messi has laid on 19 assists for Mbappe this season, with 11 coming back the other way, and the pair have flourished in the injury-enforced absence of Messi's former Barca teammate Neymar.

READ: Messi's Barcelona wage as locker room reaction revealed

Messi and Mbappe 'inseperable'

"Since Neymar's season finished, Messi and Mbappe have been inseparable," reports Mundo Deportivo's Dani Gil.

"They often walk together to the Camp des Loges training ground, an image that is repeated during PSG matches. The gestures between the two are good: laughter, confidence and, above all, a natural affinity on the pitch.

"The Frenchman wants the Argentine by his side because of how much easier he makes things for him in attack."

READ: Messi receives €400m offer to become best paid player in football history

Messi reportedly has an offer €25m a year from Barca - with a percentage of his own shirt sales thrown in - while Al-Hilal have offered him some €400m a season to follow Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia.

Before Ronaldo's move to the Middle East, Mbappe was the highest paid player in the world after U-turning on Real Madrid last May. His contract gave him wide-ranging power at PSG, and his backing for Messi will encourage PSG to offer him the best possible contract.

Whilst enjoying playing beside Messi, Mbappe has previously stopped short of describing the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner as the best player in the world.

"I always tell myself that I'm the best because that way you don't set limits and you try to give the best version of yourself," he said. "People don't understand the ego but when you're down nobody else is going to pick you up."