Mbappe shoots down Madrid rumors

Superstar 'signed up for project' as treble clinches title for PSG

PARIS - Kylian Mbappe committed his future to newly crowned Ligue 1 champion Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday after sweeping aside Monaco with a hat-trick in a 3-1 win that also saw the return of superstar strike partner Neymar.

"I'm here, I've signed up to the project," Mbappe, who is being linked with Real Madrid, told TV station Canal+.

"Good for Real Madrid and Zizou (Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane), I will watch their matches as an admirer."

Mbappe took his league tally for the season to 30 with Sunday's treble, which came just hours after PSG was crowned champion for the sixth time in seven years when closest challenger Lille dropped points.

Lille's scoreless draw at Toulouse left it 16 points behind PSG with five games to play, allowing the capital club to celebrate the title after missing chances to seal it in its previous three matches.

"I'm happy, but the season isn't finished yet and I want to score more," said Mbappe.

The 20-year-old is targeting the domestic double ahead of next week's French Cup final against Rennes after his side crashed out in the last 16 in the Champions League.

"We're disappointed for what happened with Manchester United, but the game goes on," added Mbappe, referring to PSG throwing away a 2-0 first-leg lead to the Premier League squad.

"We obviously expected more from the Champions League but we can't let ourselves be demoralized."

Neymar's return at the start of the second half, replacing Layvin Kurzawa, was the cherry on the cake for Thomas Tuchel's side, which had been without the Brazilian superstar since Jan 23 because of an injury to his right foot.

Edinson Cavani also returned to action for injury-ravaged PSG as a second-half substitute, having a late strike overturned for offside, meaning that its famed front three are back together after months apart.

Kyl-er instinct

Mbappe has thrived in the absence of his strike partners, and gave his side a 2-0 first-half lead with two neat finishes, the first coming in the 15th minute and the second seven minutes before the break after a beautiful pass from Dani Alves.

The World Cup winner then put the three points beyond doubt when he tapped in Alves' low cross nine minutes after the break.

Aleksandr Golovin rolled home a consolation for the away side, which remains in 16th place, just four points away from the relegation playoff spot.

"We've not been in the best of form, but I thought we played well today. We won again, and that's important," said Tuchel.

"The Champions League is a huge goal, but a club like Juventus has been waiting more than 20 years to win that trophy."

The Parisians have struggled with key injuries in recent weeks and lost Italian international midfielder Marco Verratti with what appeared to be a left ankle injury.

Took some time

Although the title was long expected, especially from a side scoring 95 goals in 33 games, it took longer than it should have.

PSG could have won it three matches ago, but drew 2-2 at home to Strasbourg when a win would have clinched it.

PSG then needed a draw at Lille last Sunday, only to lose 5-1 in the club's most lopsided defeat since Qatari investors QSI took charge in June 2011.

A win last Wednesday at Nantes would have sufficed, too, only for PSG to lose 3-2.

The 10 goals conceded in three matches was PSG's worst skid during a three-game spell since 1985.

On Sunday, PSG took to the pitch wearing a shirt with a large image of Notre Dame cathedral replacing the usual sponsor's logo, and "Notre Dame" replaced player names on the back of their shirts.

The iconic Paris landmark was damaged in a spectacular blaze last week.

The club said it would put a limited edition of the shirts on sale online during the match, with the proceeds donated to associations related to firefighters.

The club also posted a "Homage to Notre Dame" video on its website in which players praised the teamwork of the Paris fire brigade and made a gesture that imitates the two famous towers that form part of the cathedral's facade.

The club said it was also using Sunday's game to thank the firefighters.

Agence France-Presse