Kylian Mbappe hit with 'passenger' jibe as Rio Ferdinand raises strong doubt about PSG star

Kylian Mbappe hit with 'passenger' jibe as Rio Ferdinand raises strong doubt about PSG star

WATCH NOW: Sports round-up as Kylian Mbappe labelled a passenger by Rio Ferdinand

Lewis Winter

By Lewis Winter


Published: 14/02/2024

- 21:00

The France superstar has been unable to lead PSG to European glory

Kylian Mbappe has been labelled a 'passenger' in the Paris Saint-Germain team, with the French side's chances of winning the Champions League played down.

Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has strong doubts that PSG can end their wait for European glory this season.


Big-spending PSG have still never won the Champions League despite boasting players such as Neymar and Lionel Messi in recent years.

Mbappe is still at the Parc des Princes but even the France superstar has been unable to lead them to the latter stages of the tournament.

Kylian Mbappe and Rio Ferdinand

Kylian Mbappe is a passenger off the ball for PSG, says Rio Ferdinand

Getty/TNT Sports

The 25-year-old has an incredible goalscoring record for PSG, closing in on 250 goals in all competitions in 290 appearances.

However, he is in the last year of his contract and is widely expected to leave the club in the summer.

There is no doubt that PSG's Qatari-backed ownership has put everything into their attempts to win European silverware.

However, a jibe often thrown at the team is they are a bunch of individuals who do not work well together on the continental stage.

The departures of Messi and Neymar last summer saw some onlookers claim it would give PSG a better chance of winning the Champions League.

Ferdinand agrees that both Messi and Neymar were passengers when PSG didn't have the ball, claiming they were never going to win with those two and Mbappe in the same team.

However, he still believes Mbappe can be considered a 'passenger' and doesn't believe PSG have a good enough team around him to go all the way this season.

He said on TNT Sports: "I think there's a bit more than just Mbappe there. They've invested heavily in this squad over the last few years.

"But it just goes to show you can't just have the jewel in the crown and it doesn't function as a team around them.

"You've got to have a really unified team that are working cohesively together for that one end product, which is to win trophies. Domestically they get it done.

"It's shown you 100 per cent, for any young people who are aspiring players at any level, you can't win big trophies with passengers without the ball.

"They had that, they had three of them, where they just switched off without the ball and they used to get punished when it got to the later stages of the tournament.

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Rio Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand does not think Kylian Mbappe can win PSG the Champions League

TNT Sports

"Can they do it with one person who might be a passenger without the ball? I think it remains to be seen. But I would strongly doubt that."

Former England and Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves can see similarities between PSG and Real Madrid's Galacticos of the early noughties.

However, he thinks Mbappe could thrive this season in being the main man in the PSG side.

Hargreaves said: "They tried with too many stars and it didn't work, did it? Real Madrid tried that with the Galacticos, didn't work.

Kylian Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe has been unable to lead PSG to Champions League glory

Getty

"Mbappe might be better off being the focal point, the star, and then work around him.

"It will be interesting because obviously they tried with Messi and Neymar but they never ever got really near it.

"I bet Mbappe is going to relish being the focal point, even though they're probably not the favourites they were in the past."

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