Mbappé’s Split With P.S.G. Widens Into a War of Words
P.S.G. officials had privately expressed shock and surprise on Monday after receiving the letter informing them that Mbappé would leave the club next summer, which had been leaked to French news media before it arrived at the club’s offices. The team believed it had been making progress in negotiations over a new multiyear contract, according to an executive familiar with the negotiations who was not authorized to discuss the sensitive talks publicly.
But in a statement sent to France’s national news agency on behalf of Mbappé, the player’s representatives denied there had been any negotiation on a contract extension and said the letter was merely a written confirmation of what Mbappé had told the club a year ago, less than two months after signing his current nine-figure deal. The club knew then, Mbappé’s side said, that he would not be taking up his option to remain with the team for a third year, despite holding up a team jersey with the year “2025” printed on the back at his signing ceremony.
The club made no public statements about Mbappé or his plans on Monday. But after his claim that he had never discussed renewing his contract, it issued a curt response. “It is emphatically untrue to say Mbappé’s team have not been involved in renewal discussions,” a club spokesman said.
The rising divide between Mbappé, one of the world’s most famous athletes, and the club, one of the richest teams in European soccer, could lead to an endgame P.S.G. had hoped to avoid: Mbappé’s exit from Paris, his hometown, perhaps as soon as this summer.
Source: The New York Times
