Mbappe 'met Lewandowski over the summer in a bid to lure him to PSG

Kylian Mbappe met with Robert Lewandowski before the Polish striker's summer move to Barcelona to try and convince him to join Paris St-Germain.

Mbappe signed a new deal with the French champions in May, shunning the advances of Real Madrid, and was reported to have asked the club to sign a world class striker to play alongside him in the French capital.

According to Le Parisien, Mbappe's choice of striker was Lewandowski, who was set to leave Bayern Munich after eight seasons with the German giants.

The French star went as far as to meet with Lewandowski on 26 May in Cannes to try and lure the Poland star to PSG. Mbappe feels he plays best in tandem with a more traditional number nine, and saw Lewandowski as the perfect fit for him and the club.

Ultimately Mbappe's efforts were in vein, as Lewandowski had his heart set on a move to Barcelona and eventually joined the Spanish side in July,

It's proved to be a successful move, as the 34-year-old already scored 18 goals in 19 games for the Catalans so far this season.

PSG also targeted Gianluca Scamacca, who opted to move to the Premier League with West Ham, and in the end swooped to bring in Hugo Ekitike from Stade de Reims. However, the 20-year-old has struggled for game time since making the move.

Ironically, the Mbappe and Lewandowski will meet on Sunday, when Lewandowski's Poland take on a French team that has been led by Mbappe's goals so far at the World Cup in Qatar.

France will be huge favourites in the last sixteen encounter, especially after Poland's display against Argentina that saw them scrape into the knockout stage on goal difference.

However, Didier Deschamps will be wary of another shock at the tournament from a team led by Lewandowski, who finally netted his first World Cup goal during the group stage.

Much has been made of Mbappe's relationship with his current attacking partner Neymar this season, with suggestions that relations were strained between the two superstars and Mbappe wanting the Brazilian out of the club.

That rift has since be played down, but there remains continued doubt on the future of Mbappe at PSG and in October the 23-year-old was forced to deny he wanted to leave the French side.