After losing in the final stages of the World Cup and then suffering a first Ligue 1 defeat of the season this past Sunday, PSG teammates Kylian Mbappé and Achraf Hakimi quickly used their time off to get as far away from the sport as possible.
With the France and Monaco stars unlikely to feature whatsoever in Friday's Coupe de France Round of 64 match against third-tier Châteauroux, Mbappé and Hakimi departed for the United States and made a surprise appearance at Brooklyn's Barclays Center for an NBA game between the Nets and San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.
The footballers got to forget about their recent travails for a minute to enjoy huge performances from Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving for Brooklyn. The announced crowd of 18,224 also gave Mbappé a great reception.
.@KMbappe and @AchrafHakimi in the house to watch the Nets ⚽ @ESPNFC pic.twitter.com/7aM22h3JgD
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) January 3, 2023
Brooklyn showed some love for @KMbappe!
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 3, 2023
Game recognize game. pic.twitter.com/IsVskAufX4
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 3, 2023
Maybe the 24-year-old is already envisioning a future in the confines of Yankee Stadium with NYCFC.
.@KMbappe is all of us watching KD get buckets pic.twitter.com/wx3x2YdYtf
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 3, 2023
Postgame scenes
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 3, 2023
Mbappé's trip to Brooklyn deprives us of images of a potential reunion with Lionel Messi on Tuesday. The Argentine is set to return to Paris and resume training, but his World Cup final rival still has more time off before a Jan. 11 clash with Angers in Ligue 1.
