Marco Verratti has opened up about Paris Saint-Germain’s long-awaited Champions League victory and Kylian Mbappé’s impact at both PSG and Real Madrid, in an interview with Marca. The Italian midfielder—now
playing in Qatar after more than a decade in Paris—offered a thoughtful perspective on how narratives around Mbappé’s departure have been oversimplified.
“PSG won the Champions League because Mbappé left? It’s unfair to see it that way,” Verratti told Marca. “With Kylian, we reached the semi-finals and the final, but we didn’t win it. Then there’s Real Madrid, who, with fantastic players, won it many times. Anyway, I don’t think PSG won it because Kylian left. Mbappé has helped the club grow a lot. The year he left, he scored nearly 50 goals, for example.”
Verratti, who played alongside Mbappé during some of PSG’s most dominant years domestically, dismissed the notion that the French club’s European breakthrough came as a result of losing their superstar. Instead, he credited Mbappé’s relentless ambition for raising PSG’s standards.
The Italian also praised the 26-year-old’s seamless transition to life at Real Madrid, where Mbappé immediately became La Liga’s top scorer and claimed both the Pichichi and Golden Boot awards.
“Mbappé has had to adapt at Real Madrid, but he scored a lot of goals and won the Pichichi and the Golden Boot,” Verratti said. “And this year he’s showing he could do even better. There’s no one else like him in the world right now.”
Verratti then turned his attention to Real Madrid itself—a club that repeatedly broke PSG hearts during their Champions League battles. The midfielder spoke with admiration about Madrid’s unique mentality and their uncanny ability to turn games around when all seemed lost.
“It’s hard to explain what it’s like playing against Real Madrid. Just when you thought they were down, they’d bounce back,” he recalled. “A team that, even without 30% possession, would still kill you. Other teams need the ball to win. Real Madrid didn’t. Madrid was very pragmatic. They’d play well for 10 minutes and score three goals, while we’d only manage one, even after playing well for 80. A team that knew how to suffer and knew victory would come, and they were sure to come back.”
He concluded with a tribute to the Bernabéu—a stadium he described as the living embodiment of Madrid’s spirit.
“The Bernabéu is a big and beautiful stadium. Just when you thought Real Madrid was dead, they’d come back to life,” Verratti said. “It didn’t take much for them to resurrect themselves, and they’ve proven it not just once, but several times.”
