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PSG’s Mbappe Unfazed by Transfer Speculation

France's forward Kylian Mbappe arrives in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines on November 13, 2023 as part of the team's preparation for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament qualifying matches. (AFP)
France's forward Kylian Mbappe arrives in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines on November 13, 2023 as part of the team's preparation for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament qualifying matches. (AFP)
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PSG’s Mbappe Unfazed by Transfer Speculation

France's forward Kylian Mbappe arrives in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines on November 13, 2023 as part of the team's preparation for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament qualifying matches. (AFP)
France's forward Kylian Mbappe arrives in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines on November 13, 2023 as part of the team's preparation for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament qualifying matches. (AFP)

Paris St Germain forward Kylian Mbappe said he would not let speculation over his future at the Ligue 1 club pollute his performances on the pitch.

Earlier this year, Mbappe said he would not renew his contract at PSG, which expires at the end of the 2023-24 season when he could leave Paris for free. The France captain has been linked with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid.

"(Questions around my future are) not something that weighs on me. On the pitch, I don't think about that. I just think about playing, being efficient, and winning titles," Mbappe told reporters ahead of France's UEFA qualifier against Gibraltar.

"I've always done that. I've always had a lot to deal with off the pitch and that hasn't stopped me from achieving what I have. When I'm out on the pitch, I don't get caught up in the outside world.

"I've started this season with the desire to think only about my football and not to think about outside things or bring in things from outside, to pollute my football, so the most important thing for me today is to play."

Mbappe also dismissed any talk of a rift between him and PSG manager Luis Enrique. The 24-year-old was singled out for criticism by the PSG boss following a 3-0 win over Reims last week, despite scoring all three goals in the league match.

Asked about the criticism, Mbappe said: "I honestly don't know. You'd have to ask (Luis Enrique) why this timing. But I took it very well and, as I said, he's a great coach. I know he has a lot to offer me, a lot to teach me.

"I'm a player who's very demanding with myself and if I can find that demand with my coach, I'm very happy, because I know it's going to take me very high up.

"I don't necessarily need the coach to say every day that I'm the best in the world for me to play well."

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Novak Djokovic Breaks a Tie with Roger Federer for Most Grand Slam Matches in Tennis History

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates winning his second round match against Portugal's Jaime Faria. (Reuters)
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates winning his second round match against Portugal's Jaime Faria. (Reuters)
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Novak Djokovic Breaks a Tie with Roger Federer for Most Grand Slam Matches in Tennis History

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates winning his second round match against Portugal's Jaime Faria. (Reuters)
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates winning his second round match against Portugal's Jaime Faria. (Reuters)

Novak Djokovic added yet another record to his lengthy list, breaking a tie with Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam matches played in tennis history by reaching 430 on Wednesday at the Australian Open in what was a tougher-than-expected second-round victory.

Djokovic improved to 379-51 for his career at major tournaments, a .881 winning percentage, by defeating 21-year-old Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2 in a match briefly interrupted by light rain before Rod Laver Arena's retractable roof was shut.

“Grand Slams, of course, they are the pillars of our sport. They mean everything for the history of the sport. ... Definitely the most important tournaments,” Djokovic said. “I’m just blessed to be making another record, I guess, today.”

Oh, yes, Djokovic already holds so many marks, many of which used to belong to Federer — who went 369-60 during his 429 Slam matches, a .860 winning percentage — and there are more on the horizon.

As it is, Djokovic has won the most Grand Slam singles titles of any man, 24, ahead of Rafael Nadal's 22 and Federer's 20 (those other two members of the Big Three are now retired). The 37-year-old Serb has spent more weeks at No. 1 in the rankings than any other player. He's played in 37 Slam finals, six more than Federer's old record. And so on and so on.

Consider, too, what could possibly await for Djokovic.

A title at the end of the 15 days at Melbourne Park would be his 25th at a major, a number never reached by any man or woman. It would also be his 11th at the Australian Open, equaling Margaret Court for the most. It would make him the oldest man in the Open era — which began in 1968 — to collect a Grand Slam singles trophy (Ken Rosewall was about six months younger when he won the 1972 Australian Open).

And it would be Djokovic's 100th tour-level tournament title, a nice round number behind only Jimmy Connors' 109 and Federer's 103 in the Open era among men.

Not everything has gone perfectly this week in Australia for Djokovic in his first tournament working with former on-court rival Andy Murray as his coach.

Both of Djokovic's matches so far came against a young player making his Grand Slam debut. And both times, he was pushed to four sets.

In the first round, it was against Nishesh Basavareddy, a 19-year-old American who turned pro only last month and is ranked 107th. In the second, it was Faria, who is ranked 125th, giving him a bit of a hard time, especially during a four-game run in the second set.

“He was playing lights-out tennis. ... I had to weather the storm,” Djokovic said. “I think I responded very well in the third and, particularly fourth, (sets).”