The waiting is finally over. The worst kept secret in world football has finally come out. Kylian Mbappe, barring another remarkable U-turn, is leaving Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season.
Many thought Mbappe was heading to Real Madrid in 2022, only for the Frenchman to stun the world of football, and Madrid president Florentino Perez, by committing to a new deal in Paris.
It was inevitable, however, that the 24-year-old would eventually leave PSG, with his leaving date the only box that needed to be filled in. Mbappe has now internally communicated to Nasser Al-Khelaifi his intention to go this summer, with the finer details of his exit to now be worked on in the coming months.
The question for many is where do PSG go from here. understands that a list of potential replacements has already been drawn up, which includes Marcus Rashford and Victor Osimhen, but there's no doubt that replacing Mbappe's quality is a borderline impossible task.
PSG intend to look to youth, ending their own mini-Galactico era, and are likely to put all their eggs in the baskets of Warren Zaire-Emery, Xavi Simons and Bradley Barcola, but even if they develop into some of the world's best players, will they ever have the same stroke and impact as a generational talent like Mbappe?
The realistic answer is no, and there's probably only four players in world football who'd have the clout to even be in the conversation...
How do you replace a generational talent?
With another one of course!
In terms of shirt-selling superstardom, goalscoring record, and big game-winning experience, there's no better replacement for Mbappe than Manchester City's cyborg Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian is the only other genuine megastar forward in the prime of