Barzagli: I told Juventus to sign Mbappe in 2017!
Martin Macdonald
- 2 Aug 2021 15:16 BST
- 4 min read
Former Juventus defender Andrea Barzagli has revealed that he urged the Bianconeri to sign Kylian Mbappe following a match versus Monaco in 2017.
In the 2015/16 season Mbappe became the youngest player ever to feature for Monaco when played against Caen in Ligue 1 ages 16 years and 347 days.
However, it wasn't until the 2016/17 season that he started to show exhilarating promise.
That campaign he would win the Ligue 1 title with Monaco and also help the club to the Champions League semi-final.
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In that semi-final, Monaco faced Juventus over two legs in a losing effort, but Mbappe still made an impact - on Barzagli especially.
"I remember like it was yesterday the feeling I felt in Monte Carlo against the 18-year-old Mbappe: he was going at 3000mph," the Italian told Tuttosport.
"At the end of the game I went to [chief football officer, Fabio] Paratici and told him: 'What are we waiting for to get him?'
"The director made me understand that everyone already wanted him and it was practically impossible to approach Mbappe."
The following summer, Mbappe would join Paris Saint-Germain on loan and then on a permanent basis for €145 million.
He is currently the second most expensive player in history behind Neymar.
What next for Mbappe?
Mbappe's contract with PSG runs out in the summer of 2022 and the club are desperately attempting to tie him down to fresh terms.
If the World Cup winner makes it clear that he wants to leave, the French giants will need to sell him this summer in order to receive a significant transfer fee or risk losing him for free in 12 months.
Real Madrid are leading the race for his signature and have prioritised his transfer this summer if possible.
Even though the club have not completed a major transfer in last season's summer window or this, they are still not in a position to afford the deal until they can raise money by selling squad players.
Mbappe is a Real Madrid fan and idolised Cristiano Ronaldo growing up, hoping to one day emulate the Portuguese superstar at Santiago Bernabeu.
Most recently, though, the Frenchman indicated a desire to win the Champions League with PSG.
La venue de Kylian Mbappé 🇫🇷 au Real Madrid est « impossible » cet été, le club ayant besoin d’argent.
Néanmoins, les Merengue ne ferment pas encore la porte car ils n’excluent pas de recevoir un coup de fil du joueur ou du PSG. La porte sera toujours ouverte.
(Cadena SER) 🔴🔵— Hadrien Grenier (@hadrien_grenier) July 28, 2021
In a joint interview with team-mate Neymar for PSG's official club magazine, Mbappe and the Brazilian had a to and fro conversation about their career goals.
The journalist who conducted the interview asks Mbappe to ask Neymar a question of his choice.
The Frenchman then asked:
"I'm not very good as a journalist. What would I ask Neymar? What is your [Neymar[ big dream for you after everything you've achieved?"
To which Neymar replied:
"My biggest dream with PSG is to win the Champions League and with Brazil to win the World Cup. And for you, Kylian, is it to win the Champions League, right?"
"Why not another World Cup," replied Mbappe.
When then asked by Neymar what his next dream is after winning the World Cup, Mbappe said:
"My biggest dream is to win the Champions League with PSG, that would be fantastic. But winning another World Cup would be very good too."
