Thursday, 10 July 2025
Thursday, 10 July 2025
The FIFA Club World Cup is set for a blockbuster all-European showdown this Wednesday, as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) face off against Real Madrid in the second semi-final in New Jersey.
Both sides booked their spots by knocking out Bundesliga giants (Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund) in the previous round, setting the stage for a high-stakes clash between the last two UEFA Champions League winners.
While the sporting value of the Club World Cup remains contested, its significance for Real Madrid has grown — even more so after the draw pitted them against Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.
Wednesday’s clash in New Jersey feels like a moment of reckoning between PSG’s young guard versus Real’s Kylian Mbappe.
Just over a month ago, Kylian Mbappe had brushed off suggestions that Real Madrid’s 2024-25 season could not be classified as a failure.
“We won two titles – that’s not failure,” the forward had insisted, referring to the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.
He said that Madrid’s season wasn’t over. “The 2025 Club World Cup is just about to start. And that’s a big one,” Mbappe added.
Mbappe's former side PSG has already achieved what he never could during his seven-year spell in Paris.
PSG triumphed in the UEFA Champions League with a 5-0 victory over Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena on May 31.
Mbappe congratulated his old team on Instagram: “The big day has finally arrived.”
But critics and commentators had pointed out the irony. Mbappe had made it his mission to win PSG their first European crown during his seven years stint.
Despite his goals and assists, the boy from Bondy was unable to deliver. Instead, PSG crashed out year after year in the Champions League knockout stages.
As early as 2019, former French World Cup winner Christophe Dugarry had flagged Mbappe’s problematic influence.
Two years ago, former PSG sporting director Leonardo stated that “the time has come for Kylian to go,” noting that other clubs had succeeded in Europe without him.
“With his behaviour over the last two years, Mbappe is showing that he's not yet a player capable of really guiding a team,” Leonardo said in an interview with L’Equipe. “He’s a great player, not a leader. It's hard to build a team around him.”
Luis Enrique echoed that view. The coach never blamed Mbappe for past failures and praised his professionalism, but maintained that PSG could win the Champions League without their record goal-scorer — and he was proven right.
Under a revamped recruitment strategy led by sporting advisor Luis Campos, PSG shifted their focus from signing marquee names to building a team of promising talents such as Desire Doue and Joao Neves.
The result was a treble-winning campaign capped by a record-breaking rout of Inter Milan.
Now, the Parisians are chasing an unprecedented quadruple. “We are ambitious,” Luis Enrique said following the win over Inter. “We are going to continue to conquer the football world.”
PSG boosted their already potent attack with the addition of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia during the January window.
The squad that lifted the Champions League was the youngest among the last 16, with an average age of 23.6. PSG appear well positioned for sustained success — a prospect that casts a long shadow over both Real Madrid and Mbappe before the game.
And Madrid’s season, despite Mbappe’s individual brilliance, has been disappointing. The club was eliminated in the Champions League quarter-finals by Arsenal and suffered repeated defeats at the hands of Barcelona in the domestic league.
Though Mbappe claimed he was “progressing” after netting 31 goals in 34 league appearances and winning the European Golden Shoe, his assessment that it had been a season of “growth” for Madrid rang hollow.
The club’s decline prompted the replacement of Carlo Ancelotti with Xabi Alonso as manager. The former midfielder had guided Bayer Leverkusen to an unbeaten double last season before joining Madrid.
But PSG will be Alonso’s first real test.
Mbappe has called PSG “the best team in Europe” and “the team that everyone wants to beat.” For Madrid, defeating PSG could salvage their faltering season. For Mbappe, it offers a chance to assert himself against a club he left under bitter circumstances.
On June 26, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed that Mbappe had filed a legal complaint against PSG, accusing the club of “moral harassment.”
He claimed the club owed him €55 million in unpaid wages and that he was mistreated after refusing to extend his contract. The complaint also referenced "lofting" — a practice of isolating players from the main squad, used in France for sporting or disciplinary reasons.
The saga reached a low point when PSG fans booed Mbappe during his final appearance at the Parc des Princes last year. The club, having offered him the most lucrative contract in its history in 2022, felt betrayed by his exit.
Mbappe finds himself at a critical juncture, facing his former club on the world stage with a chance to make a powerful statement. Victory could provide the validation he seeks in Madrid. Defeat could deepen the doubts already forming around his decision and leadership.
