Kylian Mbappe could not be more sincere. The Frenchman recognised Real Madrid's superiority during the Champions League tie that ended PSG's dreams for another season. It was a lesson from which he hopes to learn for the future.
"Nobody can say we didn't try, but this is football and although we have great players, Madrid showed the difference between great players and champions," Mbappe said after PSG's thumping win against Metz on Saturday.
The French starlet doesn't believe there was an attitude problem: "Mentally, we wanted to come into the game in the best way possible." Although, it wasn't enough to comeback from the first leg deficit.
With that in mind, Mbappe is already looking forward: "We have to learn from our mistakes and avoid making them again next season," the 19-year-old said, who should have many more bites at the cherry in what promises to be a stellar career.
There were some other claims from PSG players that were a little more critical of the way the dealt with Real Madrid. Adrien Rabiot famously said that it is "no good putting eight past Dijon" if you are not able to produce when it matters in the big games.
Julian Draxler was also left wanting: "We spent 400 million and we still haven't qualified." This is precisely what it is that Real Madrid taught to PSG - that to fight for the biggest trophies you need to do more than spend money, you need to build a team.