Kylian Mbappé: the most desired ace of spades in the world

In 1998, during the World Cup in France, a Brazilian newspaper asked the poet Chico Buarque to cover the event. Undecided about how to approach the commission, the composer’s creativity inclined him to write a note in the first person, as if it were Paris, “The City of Light”, and he was jealous that tourists no longer came to visit her and her Museum of Louvre, its River Seine or its Champs Elysées but to the football stadiums. The column dealt with the enormous power that, for better or worse, a round ball exerts on human beings. Idrissa Gueye, the Senegalese midfielder who injured Kylian Mbappein training at Paris Saint Germain.

Today (3:00 pm) the series is decided in Madrid and, after Gueye’s infamous stomp on its top star, the radical Parisians have acted with the irrationality that moves the things that man is passionate about. The social networks of the African soccer player and Pauline, his partner, have caught fire with racist insults that have forced both to close their accounts. Mbappé, for his part, also wasting class off the pitch, dedicated a message of solidarity to his teammate “All together. Always. This is Paris” He has posted about a photograph in which they appear celebrating a goal.

If Mbappé becomes part of the meeting, this afternoon, he will do so with the natural precautions of someone who is known to be injured. In a series against Madrid, the winningest team in the Champions League in history, that is a disadvantage that could be important. Mbappé in Donatello mode, as his followers affectionately call him in reference to one of the Ninja Turtles, is not the same as a cautious and concerned striker. Will we have to see how much it affects his performance?

On the sidewalk in front is Madrid. More Real in statistics than in game, but always dangerous due to his lineage and goalscoring efficiency. In the first leg, PSG, with an imperial Verrati, far surpassed him in the process. In any case, it was not until the fourth minute of discounts that he saw his fence defeated by a genius from Mbappé. Even playing badly, Madrid has the back to face their most demanding challenges. The bad news for Ancelotti’s men is the absence, due to the accumulation of yellow cards, of Casemiro. The Brazilian is the cornerstone in the functioning of merengues.

The lights that Lio has shone with PSG during the season have been sporadic, but a stellar performance today can help him regain lost motivation. And the fans of him to quickly forget the last few months.

Mbappé has scored 14 goals this season and is currently the team’s best player, but if he’s not at his best another has to be the “Ace of Spades” this afternoon at the Bernabeu. Neymar and Messi ask for the floor.