Challenge Mbappe To Play Abroad, Anelka: Want The Ballon D'Or? Compete With The Best

Kylian Mbappe (Twitter @k.mbappe)

JAKARTA - Former France striker Nicolas Anelka has challenged Kylian Mbappe to leave Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) if he wants to make an impact on the global stage and win the Ballon d'Or like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Mbappe, who scored 42 goals in all competitions for PSG last season, has a contract until June 2022 at the French club.

He has also long been linked with a move to Spanish club Real Madrid.

The 22-year-old had a disappointing season with France at Euro 2020, in which he did not score and failed to find the net as his team lost in the decisive penalty shoot-out against Switzerland in the last-16 tie.

"If you want the biggest accolades, you have to move away from PSG at some point," Anelka wrote in his column for The Athletic.

"You can't say you're competing with the best all the time when you're at PSG."

"If you want to win the Ballon d'Or, what you should pay attention to is Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, you have to compete with the best," added the Euro 2000 champion.

Anelka said that Ligue 1 was not easy, but that the Premier League was the "toughest league".

"So if you want to be one of the best then do what you did in Paris but with Chelsea or (Manchester) United or Arsenal or (Manchester) City or Liverpool or go to Spain to Madrid or Barcelona. Or maybe Italy," added Anelka.

"Having done that, we can talk about a more global impact."