Paris Saint-Germain welcomed a special guest to the Parc des Princes for their matchup against Olympique de Marseille in Le Classique on Sunday. Victor Wembanyama, the favorite to go No. 1 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, was present for the matchup.
Wembanyama had an opportunity to watch fellow French athlete Kylian Mbappé. Despite the 23-year-old not scoring, he did provide an assist in the match’s only goal, which Neymar scored.
Asked by the PSG TV channel (h/t RMC Sport), Victor Wembanyama did not hide the fact that Mbappé represented a source of inspiration for him.
“Of course, for many years. I realize that we have a lot in common,” Wembanyama said. “One I would relate to a lot. Kylian is the player who inspires me the most, but I want to be original and chart my own path.
🗣 « 𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑧 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑠 »
Victor 𝐖𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐚𝐦𝐚 a un message pour vous ! 🔴🔵#PSGOM I #LeClassique pic.twitter.com/0oKxwDHmEi
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) October 16, 2022
“I’ve always been a football fan. I did it myself a few years ago. I was a goalkeeper. And now that I play in the Paris region, it’s an almost weekly meeting for me to come see PSG.”
There’s no doubt that Wembanyama will want to ask Mbappé how he handled success as a teenager since the PSG came onto the scene at an early age with AS Monaco before heading home to join the French giants in 2017.
Wembanyama doesn’t know where he will be drafted until next year, but regardless of the team, there are going to be high expectations placed on him to be a franchise savior.
