In the Champions League in the early hours of tomorrow morning, Mbappe has a chance to eliminate a team he will almost certainly join next season. Real Madrid played Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16, with the Ligue 1 giants taking a 1-0 lead in the first leg. Let's look at five examples of player transfers who played an important role in eliminating Europe's biggest club, but who then joined these underlings.
Mbappe (Real Madrid)
That's still a hypothesis, but if Paris Saint-Germain finish the promotion this week, Mbappe will play a huge role in knocking his next club, Real Madrid, out of the Champions League. Paris Saint-Germain are favourites to complete the promotion in Madrid, while Mbappe will almost certainly play in Madrid next season. The striker, whose contract at Paris Saint-Germain expires at the end of the season, has agreed to move to Real Madrid on liberty at the end of the season, something that was already well known several months ago.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Cristiano Ronaldo completed one of the most shocking transfers ever made when he moved from Real Madrid to Juventus in the summer of 2018. Ronaldo admits to doing so in part because he received a standing ovation from Juventus fans after Torino scored the greatest goal of his career. It was in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, when Ronaldo scored the second goal of the team's 3-0 victory. In the second leg of the elimination of Juventus, he also scored a penalty in the last minute. Ronaldo joined Juventus that summer for 110 million euros.
De Ligt (Juventus)
It was the second player on the list to join Juventus, whose goal knocked Juventus out of the Champions League. In the 2018-19 season, Juventus went all out to participate in the Champions League and signed Cristiano Ronaldo for a huge fee. They were supposed to beat Ajax in the quarter-finals, but the young Dutch giants won a well-deserved victory with a header from young star De Ligt in Turin's second leg. Juventus signed him that summer with a prize of €75 million plus €10.5 million, which was impressive.
Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)
Neymar played the lead role in the greatest reversal in the history of the Barcelona Champions League in 2016-17. Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of the round of 16 at home, a result that has almost ended the suspense. However, Neymar orchestrated an incredible reversal at Camp Nou. He scored a goal and made two goals – including Roberto's dramatic goal in stoppage time – and Barca won the game 6-1. That summer, he moved to Paris for 222 million euros and set a world record for a transfer fee.
Morientes (Real Madrid)
Morientes was one of the best strikers in Europe in his heyday, playing an important role in Real Madrid's three-time Champions League victory. But by 2003, the Bernabeu thought he was at his best and allowed him to join Monaco on a one-season loan period. It proved to be a huge mistake when Morientes scored two goals in the quarter-finals against their old clubs to knock them out of the Champions League. This allowed Real Madrid to bring him back to the club next season, although he had only been for one season before being sold to Liverpool.