Mbappe ‘Already Forgotten’, Says Real’s Perez after Champions League Win

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti (C) and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez after the team won the UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, 28 May 2022. (EPA)
Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti (C) and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez after the team won the UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, 28 May 2022. (EPA)
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Mbappe ‘Already Forgotten’, Says Real’s Perez after Champions League Win

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti (C) and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez after the team won the UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, 28 May 2022. (EPA)
Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti (C) and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez after the team won the UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, 28 May 2022. (EPA)

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez insisted that Paris St. Germain forward Kylian Mbappe was not on the club's minds as they celebrated a record-extending 14th European Cup crown after victory against Liverpool in Paris on Saturday.

Mbappe was widely tipped for a move to the Spanish capital but signed a contract extension until 2025 at PSG last week in a dramatic U-turn, a decision that irked many Real players and fans.

"Real Madrid will always continue to work on having the best players, but today Mbappe is already forgotten," Perez told reporters after a Vinicius Jr. tap-in gave them a 1-0 win.

"Nothing has happened, Real Madrid have had a perfect season and that is a forgotten issue, there is only a Real Madrid party."

Mbappe's choice to stay at the French champions has triggered a war of words between the parties involved after LaLiga president Javier Tebas said they would file a complaint against PSG to UEFA because the deal "attacked the economic stability" of the European game.

Ligue 1 president Vincent Labrune hit back at Tebas on Thursday, saying his denigration of the French league and its players was "unacceptable".



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.