Mbappé: "Winning the Champions League with Real Madrid is what I want most"

Kylian Mbappé answered without hesitation after the European match and sent a message aimed straight at the Bernabéu crowd. The French attacker confessed that winning the Champions League with Real Madrid is his greatest ambition and that this desire outweighs any individual goal. He backed it up on the pitch by scoring the opening goal of the night after receiving from Brahim, finishing with the conviction of a forward who lives for this competition.

• Mbappé scored the first goal of the match from Brahim's assist.
• The Frenchman says winning the Champions League with Real Madrid is what he wants most.
• He admits he has never lifted the European trophy and that it stings that PSG won it without him.
• He ranks the Champions League above the Ballon d'Or in his list of priorities.
• He praises José Mourinho for the intensity and trust he brings to the team.

Mbappé's opening goal on a night to keep building

The forward did not have his sharpest night in front of goal, but he converted the first clear chance he got. Brahim slipped the ball through and Mbappé finished with the ease of a player used to deciding big matches. That early strike allowed him to make a statement in a game where all eyes were on him from before kick-off.

The evening had started with a symbolic gesture: Mbappé lifted the trophy that recognizes him as the top scorer of last season's Champions League. An individual award that still feels like little for a footballer chasing the collective title with boundless ambition.

The Champions League, Mbappé's unfinished business

At 28 years old, the Frenchman has still not celebrated a Champions League title. That unresolved account has followed him since his time in Paris, and he now wants to settle it once and for all wearing white. The wound gets deeper when he is reminded that PSG has won the last two editions of the continental tournament without him in the squad.

It is very important for me to win the Champions League with Madrid, I want it more than anything.

That sentence sums up the mood of a player who has turned the European competition into a fixation. He repeats the same idea in every public appearance, and his performances on the pitch are aimed at bringing him closer to that elusive goal.

The collective message before the European clash

Mbappé also wanted to make clear that the Champions League cannot be won alone. In the press conference before the match against Inter, he stressed that the team's collective performance will be crucial to going far in the competition.

We want to achieve special things. We want to be a collective, a team that can compete with the best in the world. We know last year was a bit difficult for us in the Champions League. But at Real Madrid you always have to be at the top.

The forward acknowledged last season's setback in Europe and appealed to the club's historic standards to recover lost ground. His message points to a team that must work as a unit if it wants to fight for the title.

Champions League or Ballon d'Or: Mbappé's priority

During his appearance on CBS Sports Golazo, the Frenchman was asked to choose between the Champions League and the Ballon d'Or. His answer left no room for interpretation: the club competition comes first.

That is the goal, I said it yesterday about the Ballon d'Or, but the Champions League is even more important, because I play for the club of my dreams, it is really important for me to win the Champions League here in Madrid, I want it more than anything, but of course the Ballon d'Or this year, I think it is a great opportunity, it is a good year for me, but let's see what happens.

Mbappé does not rule out fighting for the individual award, which he considers a great opportunity this season, but he makes clear that the European trophy with Real Madrid sits at the top of his list. The club of his dreams and the competition that keeps slipping away form a combination too powerful to put any personal recognition ahead of them.

Praise for Mourinho and the fear of letting him down

The forward also had words for José Mourinho, whom he described as a coach who brings a special intensity to daily work. According to Mbappé, the Portuguese manager has the ability to make his players feel important and to bring out the best in each of them.

I think the first thing Mourinho brings is that he makes you feel alive. He makes you feel active in your work, he makes you feel special. And he is a guy who puts a lot of pressure on you.

That constant demand, far from bothering the Frenchman, creates an extra sense of commitment. Mbappé admits he does not want to disappoint a coach who places so much trust in him, and that feeling pushes him to deliver his best version both in training and in matches.