Football
Jonathan Johnson, PSG correspondent 5y

Kylian Mbappe: Paris Saint-Germain need to grow before targeting Champions League

Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe has told ESPN FC the Ligue 1 giants need to improve before they can target the Champions League.

PSG, Ligue 1 winners in five out of the last six seasons, have spent big in their pursuit of European football's biggest prize but have so far come up short, failing to progress beyond the quarterfinals since they were taken over in 2011.

They were knocked out in the round of 16 by Real Madrid last season and Mbappe, who cost PSG €180 million plus bonuses, said Thomas Tuchel's men still have work to do to reach their ultimate goal.

"I think that PSG is a club that has grown since the arrival of the new owners," Mbappe told ESPN FC.

"It has not stopped growing and we need to grow with the club before immediately thinking about the Champions League final and winning the competition.

"There are steps before getting there and we are perfectly conscientious of the fact that we, the players, need to keep growing with the club -- both things and everybody together.

"We will see where we go but yes I think that we, at one moment, want to win the Champions League."

Mbappe moved to Paris last summer along with Neymar, who cost €222m. The 19-year-old revealed that he was in constant contact with the Brazilian ahead of his switch to PSG.

"We started speaking before I came to Paris," the former Monaco man said. "Neymar had already joined, and he wanted me to do the same, so he kept asking when I was joining and when I would be joining.

"It was a little difficult because I did not speak perfect English -- neither did he. I speak a bit of Spanish, which he knows from Barcelona. However, now we speak in English because I speak much better now.

"I can improve, but I am better than I was. We communicate, and we have things in common that are created over time, so it's very good."

Mbappe pointed to the fervour created by the PSG fans at Parc des Princes as an important factor in the French champions' domestic success -- they have opened Ligue 1 this season with 12 wins in a row -- and expressed his hope they can help Tuchel's men progress on the continental front this term.

"The atmosphere against Real Madrid [in the Champions League] last season was fantastic," Mbappe said.

"The supporters are always there to get behind us, so it is up to us to do what we can do on the pitch.

"We have everything at the club. We are good, and we are well-treated. We have structure, we have quality and now it is up to us to show that we are great players and especially a great team."

Mbappe also spoke of his pride at being one of Pele's favourite current players but distanced himself from comparisons between himself and the Brazil legend.

"I was very happy, very proud," Mbappe said.

"However, I think that it is very difficult to be compared with Pele because nobody can do what he did. There is one and one only -- him. It is flattering, but I do not pay too much attention to it because I will never be like him."

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