French striker Kylian Mbappe, Paris Saint-Germain's top scorer, spoke about Argentine Lionel Messi joining the team last summer, and admitted that he had never imagined that he would play alongside the "Bulga" in his career.
During his interview with the French newspaper L'Equipe, he confirmed that he does not mind running extra meters to cover the spaces on the field to give Messi seconds of rest and keep him fresh for the crucial and critical moments of the matches.
He explained, "I never imagined that Messi would come to Paris, he was among the players that I ruled out playing with, and his arrival was next to impossible because he was unlikely to leave Barcelona."
He added, "When you have Messi in your team, you have to make the least effort to score goals, and I agree to run if he wants to walk on the field, no problem, he is Messi."
All this praise and respect for Messi did not change Mbappe's opinion on the issue of leaving the Parisian team and signing for Real Madrid last summer.
Speaking to the French newspaper, he confirmed that he had already made his decision after long and deep thought, "If I had left last summer, I would have only moved to Real Madrid."
He continued, "It is a great honor to play with Messi, he is a great player, but I do not take my decisions based on sudden reactions, and I will not change my decision (my desire to leave Saint-Germain) because of Messi's arrival."