In an exclusive interview with Get French Football News, former AS Monaco and England striker Mark Hateley shared his candid thoughts on tonight's UEFA Champions League semi-final between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain—and didn't hold back when it came to Kylian Mbappé's time in Paris.

"He has that ego, and that ego definitely didn't work at PSG," Hateley said, reflecting on the superstar forward's departure. "Cast your mind back to when they were absolutely full of superstars. They were doing OK in periods, but not over a long period, because there were mega egos all around the place. That has been whittled down into a tighter unit, with decent players, without those bigger egos, but who are just as good."

When asked about last week's thrilling 5-4 encounter—a match many fans wished had been saved for the final—Hateley offered a balanced take. "Cup competitions are always difficult to call because most of the time, the best team might not win. The best team will always win a league, but a cup competition is very 'iffy and butty.'" He added, "The game itself was an exceptional game of football—incredible. Some incredible players on show, both excelling on how to score goals but not how to defend! But what does the punter want to see? They want to see dynamic games like that with lots of goals."

Hateley noted that PSG's evolution has been key. "It started last year, popping the ball through the lines very, very quickly. Trying to get to the wider areas, trying to get the ball into the box, getting goals scored. I think the time of big goal scorers has come back." He acknowledged the defensive concerns, saying, "Defenders and managers will be going, 'Look at that, look at that, look at that.' But for the neutral on the night—maybe not your Bayern Munich and PSG supporters, they'll be a bit more heart in mouth—it was just popcorn flying everywhere."

Asked which players have stood out, Hateley highlighted a mix of stars. "Harry Kane, Michael Olise, and Luis Díaz—your goal scorers. And on the other side, you've got Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembélé, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. I'm not going to say Kvaratskhelia's an unsung hero, but out of all the other stars in that side, he has been Mr. Consistent. Assists and goals. That's what it's all about; that's what's been impressive for me about PSG."