'We are approaching the NBA model' - Kylian Mbappe braced for '70-game seasons' with Champions League & World Cup expansions as PSG star warns fans won't get value for money

UEFA's elite-level club competition will take on an unprecedented shape next term, with the old group stages scrapped in a new league and knockout format that will see an extra four teams take part and an extra two group matches added. FIFA also announced their own 32-team Club World Cup from 2025, alongside the expanded international tournament from 2026, which welcomes 16 new nations in a 48-team competition.

Speaking with GQ, Mbappe admitted that he doesn't mind playing more often, but feels the quality of football will suffer as a result.

The PSG forward said: "We are approaching the NBA model with seventy-game seasons. Personally I am not against playing so much, but we will not be able to be good every time and give the public the expected show. In the NBA, players do not play every match and franchises practice load management [resting squad members who are not injured]. But, today, if I decided to say 'I'm tired, I'm not playing on Saturday', it wouldn't work. The spectator who pays for his ticket, and who will perhaps see you only once in the season, wants to witness a performance worthy of the name and that is normal. However, it is a different mode of management to which football is exposed if the number of matches increases. I don't want to give lessons, but we must think together to succeed in offering the best possible show and for players, spectators and authorities to come together.”

Mbappe is not the first player to highlight potential issues about football's seemingly endless expansion. His former France team-mate Raphael Varane was more serious in his opposition, claiming that players' careers will be made "much shorter" as a result of playing too often. Indeed, this season has seen an unprecedented number of injuries, with Premier League clubs alone boasting a combined 161 players sidelined at this present moment (per Premierinjuries.com).

While the Frenchman will no doubt be vying for another world crown in 2026, it remains unclear where he will be playing his club football in the near future. Real Madrid remain firmly in the race for the 25-year-old forward this summer, while a Premier League move has not been ruled out, although some in Paris see him staying at the Ligue 1 club.