Mbappe Breaks Messi’s Elite Record As PSG Knock Barcelona Out Of Champions League [Watch]

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward Kylian Mbappe broke Lionel Messi’s record to become the youngest player in the history to reach 25 Champions League goals Wednesday.

Mbappe achieved the milestone in his side's last-16's second leg clash with FC Barcelona that ended in a 1-1 draw. As a result, Messi-led Barcelona were knocked out of the 2020-21 Champions League, while last season’s runners-up PSG qualified for the quarter-finals.

The World Cup-winner forward opened the scoring for PSG Wednesday as he netted from the penalty spot in the 31st minute. Mbappe completed 25 goals in the elite European competition at 22 years and 80 days, breaking the record set by Messi at the age of 22 years and 286 days, according to Opta Joe.

In the first leg of the last-16 game between PSG and Barcelona, which was played in Paris, Mbappe had struck a hat-trick to hand PSG a massive 4-1 win. He had become only the third player in the history of the Champions League to score a hat-trick against the Catalans.

With his goal at Camp Nou, Mbappe set yet another record against Barcelona as he helped PSG progress on a 5-2 aggregate. The Frenchman now has four goals against Barcelona in this year’s Champions League, becoming the first player to net as many goals against the La Liga giants in a single season of the competition.

In the absence of Neymar, who has been sidelined with injury, Mbappe has been PSG’s front-line scorer, having struck six times in their last seven Ligue 1 games in addition to his Champions League heroics against Barcelona.

Mbappe’s current deal with PSG is due to expire at the end of the 2020-21 season, and he has not signed an extension yet, drawing more attention over his possible departure from Parc des Princes Stadium this summer. The 22-year-old forward has been linked with various top European clubs, including Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Liverpool FC.

It is understood that PSG have labeled Mbappe with a transfer fee of around $272 million and not many clubs will be able to afford to pay a record fee amid the financial crisis infused by the coronavirus pandemic.