Kylian Mbappe secures PSG legacy suppressing Edinson Cavani as all-time top scorer prior to crucial UCL clash vs Bayern Munich

French superstar Kylian Mbappe has reached another milestone in his career as he becomes Paris Saint Germain’s all-time top scorer at the age of just 24. The record came as he scored in a 4-2 league win against Nantes.

Mbappe was at 200 goals, the previous record set by Edinson Cavani, but then scored a goal to become PSG’s all-time top scorer at 201 goals. He was looking to have to wait for another match to break the record, but a 92nd-minute goal saved him the trouble of waiting.

PSG started the game well with a Lionel Messi goal in the 12th minute, which was also a record of 1000 club goal involvements for the Argentine. Just five minutes later, Jaouen Hadjam scored an own goal thanks to a saved effort from PSG’s Nuno Mendes. Nantes quickly equalized before the first half when they scored two goals. Danilo Periera then put them in the lead again in the 60th minute thanks to a Kylian Mbappe assist. Mbappe then sealed the game with his record-breaking goal in the 92nd minute.

I play to write history' - Kylian Mbappe reflects on breaking PSG's  all-time goalscoring record with strike against Nantes | Goal.com US

The French star took 247 appearances to surpass the record after joining the Parisian giants in 2017 from Monaco for a fee of around 180 million euros. The previous record holder Edinson Cavani needed 301 matches in a seven-year playing career there.

What did Kylian Mbappe say?

After the match, Mbappe spoke with Canal+ about the achievement, “In the last five minutes, I wasn’t putting any pressure on myself, I knew I would beat it and I didn’t want to force it. It’s great that the goal came at the end. Playing here is a privilege, I’ve improved as a player, and I’ve changed a lot.”

“Playing at PSG is special for me. If you told me I would score with the captain’s armband on to break the record, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

“It’s a personal achievement but I’m here for collective achievements. I’d like to thank my teammates, coaches, management, and supporters, who’ve given me everything here. I’m now saving goals for the Bayern game… and even more. We will try. We’re going there to win and qualify. We’re determined. We have now got our confidence back and we’ll go there to win.”

He also spoke about whether he will leave if they are knocked out of the Champions League and also about the Ballon d’Or, “I don’t think so. I’m here at PSG, I’m very happy, and I can’t think of anything other than enjoying PSG life.” 

“Ballon d’Or? For sure it’s a mission for me to win the Ballon d’Or one day.”

PSG and Mbappe will now face Bayern Munich away on Thursday in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16. They are currently trailing 1-0 on aggregate following a loss at home in the first leg. 

Fazal Al Bashar

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Fazal is a passionate soccer aficionado, who when not discovering the latest soccer stories and rumors, indulges in playing FIFA all night. While he sucks at the sport, he knows the who and what in all things soccer-related.

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