Mbappe focused on Ligue 1 after Champions League exit raises questions over PSG future

Kylian Mbappe insisted Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League elimination to Bayern Munich will not affect his future as the striker focuses on the Ligue 1 title.

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Serge Gnabry’s second-half strikes at Allianz Arena on Wednesday secured a 2-0 victory for Bayern and a 3-0 aggregate triumph in the last-16 clash.

Defeat marked a second straight Champions League elimination in the first knockout round for PSG, who have repeatedly had to battle interest from Real Madrid to keep Mbappe in the French capital.

The France international previously refuted suggestions a European crown will dictate his future and reiterated that message after another miserable PSG outing on the continental stage.

When asked by reporters whether the elimination would impact his future, Mbappe said: “No, no, I’m calm, the only thing that matters to me this season is winning the championship and then we’ll see.”

Christophe Galtier’s side sit eight points clear at the Ligue 1 summit as they aim to defend their French top-flight crown.

However, Mauricio Pochettino was dismissed just last season for failing in the same Champions League round, in which they lost a dramatic tie against Carlo Ancelotti’s eventual champions Madrid.

PSG have played 137 games in UEFA’s top club competition without lifting the trophy, only Arsenal (177) have endured a longer such run in the competition, excluding qualifiers.

8 – Paris Saint-Germain conceded at least once in all eight of their UEFA Champions League matches this season; the first time they have failed to keep a clean sheet in a single campaign in the competition. Unbalanced. pic.twitter.com/aD2lPQ4p92

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 8, 2023

Galtier’s visitors were somewhat unfortunate in Munich, though, as Vitinha saw his first-half effort towards an open goal cleared by a remarkable Matthijs de Ligt goal-line intervention.

Mbappe acknowledged there was little to separate the two heavyweight sides, though that did little to quash his frustration.

The 24-year-old added: “We are disappointed. That’s how it is, we have to move on, try to challenge everyone.

“We didn’t miss much when we look at the state of the two teams, [but] they have a team built to win the Champions League.

“At the start of the season, during the first Champions League press conference, I said that we were going to do our best and give our maximum.

“We’re going to question ourselves and go back to our day-to-day life in Ligue 1.”