It’s easy to forget amid all the hype over a World Cup final that pits Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe into direct competition that they’ll have to play on the same team again afterwards.
Paris Saint-Germain resume their hitherto undefeated Ligue 1 campaign against Strasbourg three days after Christmas and seasonal goodwill needs to be restored very quickly indeed.
But it would be naive to think Sunday’s France vs Argentina showdown is going to pass by without some form of ramifications on the careers of these two global superstars.
Paris Saint-Germain team-mates Kylian Mbappe (left) and Lionel Messi (right) will go head-to-head in this Sunday’s World Cup final in Qatar
Messi has scored five times for Argentina in the tournament as he is chasing a fairytale finale
Mbappe has also scored five times as France have powered their way through to another final
Messi and Mbappe get along absolutely fine and have been largely complimentary in their public comments about one another.
However, it would be wrong to describe them as best buddies. Messi is far closer to Neymar at PSG, a friendship going right back to their Barcelona days, while Mbappe is tighter to Achraf Hakimi and others.
Messi has acted as a bridge between Mbappe and Neymar when the rift between the pair threatens to undermine PSG’s progress.
Messi has found himself in the middle of a rift between Neymar and Mbappe at PSG
The stats suggest they can work well in tandem on the pitch at least – Mbappe has scored 19 club goals so far this season, Neymar 15 and Messi 12.
Their assist tallies currently read seven, 13 and 19 respectively. Messi has set up eight of Mbappe’s goals this season and Neymar has supplied three. Mbappe has returned the favour for Messi three times.
It hardly hints at animosity.
Yet come Sunday night, somebody is going to be seriously unhappy and PSG will have to diplomatically handle the fall-out without the usual beach holiday calming-down period you get after a World Cup.
It would be very cruel on Messi, playing in his final World Cup aged 35, to stand and watch Mbappe pick up the second winners’ medal of his career two days before his 24th birthday.
As the tournament has progressed and Argentina have advanced, the sense of destiny around Messi and the ‘greatest of all time’ completing his medal collection has grown stronger and stronger.
While his team-mates are all hauling Messi towards this ultimate goal, he has repeatedly shown even aged 35 he retains the capacity to bend games – and tournaments – to his will.
The trio combine brilliantly on the pitch for PSG as they chase success in France and Europe
They have already scored 46 goals between them for PSG this season in all competitions
Messi has scored in five of Argentina’s six games so far – three were penalties – and produced moments of wonder like his skating around Josko Gvardiol to tee up Julian Alvarez in the semi-final win over Croatia as reminders of his enduring class.
Mbappe, meanwhile, has been his usual devastating self, also scoring five times but not in the two most recent games against England and Morocco, in which France have been more pragmatic.
He showed in 2018 that he is more than capable of producing in a World Cup final and more of the same sparkle will be needed on Sunday.
While most neutrals around the world will want Messi to complete his fairytale, we shouldn’t underestimate Mbappe’s burning ambition either.
He isn’t going to be best pleased to end up on the losing side, even if it makes a club-mate happy.
Messi gives Josko Gvardiol the run-around during Argentina’s semi-final win over Croatia
Mbappe smashes home for France against Poland in their last-16 encounter at the tournament
Mbappe was expected to sign for Real Madrid back in the summer but he committed to PSG until 2025 after their Qatari owners made him the highest-paid player in the world.
But that doesn’t guarantee he’ll stay until 2025 given as recently as October he took aim at PSG coach Christophe Galtier for playing him as a centre forward in his ‘pivot gang’ Instagram post.
Mbappe used the hashtag ‘#pivotgang’ in an Instagram post which was quickly deleted
Mbappe had also spoken about how he ‘has a lot more freedom’ in the national team when Olivier Giroud leads the line and he is stationed on the left.
The fact Neymar occupies that preferred left-side role for PSG doesn’t help matters but none of this seems to hinder the team.
In October, Mbappe was even suggesting he wanted to leave in the January window amid a broken relationship with the club and a dressing room rift.
Things have cooled down again since then but Mbappe’s future in Paris may well be a topic of discussion again whichever way the final goes.
Messi, meanwhile, is out of contract at PSG next summer though he has an option to stay another year. There have been strong reports he will join MLS side Inter Miami, something denied by Messi’s representatives.
Defeat to Mbappe and France in the final could well convince Messi the time has come for a new challenge in the Florida sunshine.
A glorious triumph may well persuade him he has enough left in the tank to continue playing at the top level in Europe, potentially having another couple of tilts at the Champions League.
Mbappe previously stated that he prefers the freedom offered by playing with Olivier Giroud
Such a scenario may have a knock-on effect on Mbappe, a player Messi has previously described as a ‘beast who is very strong one-on-one, who goes into space, who is very fast, who scores a lot of goals.
‘He is a complete player and he has proved it for years, and in the years to come he will certainly be among the best.’
A France win on Sunday will take Mbappe there, while an Argentina win will be destiny fulfilled for Messi. You can draw your own conclusions on the fairness of it all.
