Will seesaw Madrid tie spin the transfer merry-go-round?

The PSG futures of Kylian Mbappe and manager Mauricio Pochettino’s must now be in serious doubt.

Real Madrid's Karim Benzema celebrates scoring his side's third goal during the Champions League, round of 16, second leg soccer match between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real’s stunning comeback victory against PSG could lead to one of the biggest transfer merry-go-rounds European football has ever seen this summer, with star man Kylian Mbappe and manager Mauricio Pochettino’s futures in serious doubt.

Another heart-breaking Champions League exit for the French side, despite the huge investment of their Qatari owners, is perhaps one of the most significant in their history.

It will lead to question marks over the management of Pochettino after they threw away a 2-0 lead on aggregate to bow out in Madrid, and even bigger speculation that star man Mbappe will now, inevitably, opt to move to Spain at the end of the season in an attempt to take his career to the next level.

Manchester United will be watching the situation very closely, of course, because their interest in Pochettino has been well documented, and all that was preventing them making contact with the Argentine was his focus on the Champions League.

If you look back on recent PSG history, no manager has survived for long after failing to deliver a trophy which has become the Holy Grail for a club which is seen as the richest in the world.

A whole host of clubs, however, will be looking at Mbappe and seeing an opportunity, too.

Real are by far the favourites to sign him, but the likes of Barcelona, Liverpool and Manchester City – and maybe even Chelsea if they find a billionaire owner in time – will be in the queue, too. At just 23 he has the potential to bring titles to any club for the best part of a decade.

The French striker showed again in an ultimately frustrating tie against Real that he has the ability to overtake the greatest legends of the game in the near future.

The throne that has been the exclusive property of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for so long is in sight – but maybe not until he can find a way, or a club, to win the Champions League for the first time.

His stunning finish, racing on to a superb through ball from Neymar, put PSG ahead in Spain, just as his 94th minute goal in Paris, assisted by the same teammate, had put Real to the sword last month; and his overall contribution was outstanding.

But when the French side threw it all away to lose 3-1, there was a sense of old frailties returning.

it was hat-trick hero and French compatriot Karim Benzema who stole the headlines and left Mbappe’s future in the mix and that’s a conundrum for Real, too.

Benzema’s performance gives him the right to claim he is Madrid’s top man right now, but the Spanish giants know that bringing in Mbappe is the key to long-term success.

Messi and Ronaldo have done well to hang on to their crowns for so long, of course, and both, even in their dotage, have something to offer PSG and Manchester United respectively; but the new boy on the block is still improving and now at the point in his career when he needs a push to reach the next level.

He isn’t the first to experience that feeling. Teammate Neymar has also been there but is now 30 years old and despite his undoubted quality and superstar status, hasn’t quite managed to sneak the top spot.

Mbappe, seven years his junior and a long way from his peak, has the opportunity do that. But can he really do it in Paris?

He had already had a goal ruled out for offside when he struck to make it 1-0 on the night and 2-0 on aggregate in the first half.

Put through by Neymar his finish was unerring, his pace electric as he left David Alaba in his wake. Just as it had been in Paris.

The goal was his 11th away goal in a knockout stage game in the Champions League, placing him third on the all-time list behind, of course, Ronaldo (23) and Messi (12).

He was also the ninth player to score in three consecutive Champions League games against Real Madrid and the youngest to do so; no wonder the hierarchy at Real are desperate to sign him.

At such a formative age he has already won four league titles in France, three Coupe de France, a World Cup and a UEFA Nations League title -more than most players achieve in their entire career. If he can add his first Champions League this season then surely a World Player of the Year will follow, and with it the right to demand succession from Ronaldo and Messi.

But the problem facing him is whether now is the time to stick or twist.

Does he try one more time to help PSG win the trophy they so desire next season? Or does he move on?

Can you be a king in Paris St Germain, a club only formed in the 1970s and elevated primarily by Qatari investment? Or does the crown require a more glamorous and historic destination?

It's a question the young man will have to ponder after this result.