PSG, Mbappe: 'Juventus play good football thanks to Sarri, Ronaldo is my idol'
- Apollo Heyes
“This year I dream of winning everything: the Champions League, the European Championship and the Olympics. I grew up with the myth of Zidane, then I loved the great Brazilian players: from Pelé to Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kakà. Another idol of mine was Cristiano Ronaldo. It's already late for me to have a career like Messi, otherwise I should have stayed at Monaco. So, logically and without wanting to take anything away from Messi, I have to be inspired by Ronaldo's career.”
The 21-year-old French forward then touched on Juventus and their chances in the Champions League this season.
"Juventus are a strong team and this is demonstrated by the Champions League finals they have played in recent seasons. The Bianconeri have always lacked something that makes the difference, but now they really have something with Ronaldo, a player who makes you win the important things. So also, this year Juventus remains among the favourites, which are the usual ones: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool and the others of all time. In addition, with Sarri, Juve now play a good game, thanks to a group of strong players regardless.”
He spoke about former Inter striker Mauro Icardi, who joined the Ligue 1 club on transfer deadline day last summer on a loan deal.
"Icardi is one of the best strikers in the world, but he arrived with a lot of humility, he put himself at the service of the team. His style is well known: he scores goals and thinks of nothing else when he enters the area. He's already scored a lot, proving to be an important element for PSG. I hope he continues at this pace because we're ambitious. I also score a lot but that doesn't mean I want to overshadow other team-mates. On the contrary, with Icardi there's a lot of understanding, we have complementary styles of play, as proven by the assists we exchange. The important thing is to continue like this in the second half of the season.”
The World Cup winner then touched on Italian midfielder Marco Verratti.
"Verratti is a phenomenon. I think it's obvious to everyone. He's the player who has impressed me the most since I've been at PSG. He's incredibly strong and I'm incredibly lucky to have him on the team. I'm proud to be able to play with him."
Finally, Mbappe spoke about Brazilian star Neymar.
"Neymar is a great player that I get along with off the pitch. It's been a difficult two seasons for him, but he's returning to his best levels. It's good news for PSG and for those who love football. Few teams can afford to line up strikers of our level, but attacking doesn't do everything. However, we need team spirit and we have to be the first forwards to put ourselves at the service of the collective game, to hope to win something important.”
Mbappe, who is contracted to Paris Saint Germain until 2022, has made 22 appearances across all competitions for a total of 1575 minutes so far this season. In that time he has scored 21 goals and provided 12 assists, huge numbers for a 21-year-old.
The player is one of the brightest young stars in the world, helping guide France to their second World Cup in the summer of 2018.
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