The Albany Gazette - Mbappe gets ready to say goodbye as PSG digest Champions League exit

PSG's hunt for elusive European glory will go on into another year after they went out in the semi-finals to Borussia Dortmund, a 1-0 loss in Tuesday's second leg at home sealing a surprise 2-0 aggregate defeat.

It means Mbappe will not get the send-off he had hoped for in the Champions League final at Wembley on June 1 and will end his seven-year spell at PSG without ever having won Europe's elite club competition.

Mbappe informed PSG privately in February of his intention to depart when his contract expires at the end of the current campaign.

The 25-year-old has never said as much publicly though, far less confirmed where he will be going next, but it appears certain that he is bound for Real Madrid.

In the meantime, Mbappe and his current club will hope to finish the season on a high, with PSG still able to complete a clean sweep of domestic honours.

They have already secured the Ligue 1 title, their 10th in the last 12 seasons, and will pick up the trophy after Sunday's game against mid-table Toulouse, which will be their last of the campaign on home turf.

PSG, who have also won the Champions Trophy, France's equivalent of a Super Cup, will then meet Lyon in the French Cup final in Lille on May 25.

"Not everything is to be chucked in the bin. We still have objectives and a French Cup final to come," Mbappe told reporters after the Dortmund defeat.

"We are going to keep working. We will try to win that final and then we will assess how the season went, what was good and what was not so good."

Mbappe did not find the net in either leg of the Dortmund tie but has scored 43 goals in all competitions this season, with 26 of those coming in Ligue 1.

He will still hope to add to his club-record tally of 255 goals for PSG and win another medal in that Cup final -- Mbappe has so far won six Ligue 1 titles, three French Cups and the now defunct League Cup twice in his seven years at his hometown team.

After Sunday's game, PSG will complete their league campaign with away matches at Nice and at relegation-threatened Metz, before Mbappe wraps up his career at the club in that Cup final.

Player to watch: Thijs Dallinga

The Dutch poacher has built on an impressive first campaign in French football by netting 18 goals in all competitions this season for Toulouse.

Dallinga, 23, made his debut for the Netherlands in November and will be hoping for a call-up for Euro 2024. An impactful performance against PSG this weekend will do his chances no harm and may help convince other clubs to approach Toulouse with a bid during the summer.

Key stats

6 - Mbappe is set to end the season as Ligue 1's top scorer for the sixth successive year

6 - Monaco are on the verge of qualifying for the Champions League to end a six-year absence from the competition

6 - Lorient have suffered six straight defeats, and a seventh on the bounce this weekend could be enough to relegate them

Fixtures (all kick-offs 1900 GMT)

Friday

Brest v Reims, Nice v Le Havre

Sunday

Clermont v Lyon, Marseille v Lorient, Montpellier v Monaco, Nantes v Lille, Paris Saint-Germain v Toulouse, Rennes v Lens, Strasbourg v Metz

(P.Clark--TAG)