Paris Saint-Germain, Kylian Mbappé at odds and a transfer may loom
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Kylian Mbappé will not exercise the option to extend his contract with Paris Saint-Germain when it expires in 2024, opening the possibility that he could leave the club as early as this summer in a transfer. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Mbappé, a 2018 World Cup winner with France, informed the club of his decision in a letter, according to multiple reports Monday. His rights could be sold this summer, with ESPN reporting that PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi is open to letting Mbappé leave for a transfer fee of around $161.5 million. Mbappé had until July 31 to sign a one-year extension with PSG or renegotiate a longer deal. In addition, Mbappé would be free to negotiate and sign a precontract agreement with a new club starting in January if he decides to finish the remaining year with PSG.
In a statement to Agence France-Presse on Tuesday, Mbappé said: “I have NEVER discussed any contract renewal with PSG. The board has been informed since July 15, 2022, of my decision not to extend beyond 2024 — and the letter sent was only meant to confirm what I already told them.”
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The statement from the player and his representatives added, “After maintaining publicly in recent weeks that he would be a PSG player next season, Kylian Mbappé has not asked to leave this summer and has just confirmed to the club that he would not be activating the extra year.”
In a tweet Tuesday, Mbappé called speculation that he wanted to join Real Madrid during the summer transfer window “lies,” adding, “I’ve already said that I’m going to continue next season at PSG, where I am very happy.”
Mbappé, 24, is the latest star with an uncertain Paris future. PSG, which is owned by Qatar Sports Investments, last week lost Lionel Messi to Inter Miami of MLS, and uncertainty surrounds Brazil star Neymar’s future with the team.
Messi, whose contract with PSG was set to expire June 30, signed with the MLS team after speculation that he might play for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia. PSG even suspended the superstar for making an unauthorized trip there recently. However, he opted not to follow Cristiano Ronaldo, his longtime rival who signed with Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr this past winter. He also opted not to return to Barcelona, where he spent much of his storied career until financial issues forced the team to let him go two years ago.
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His final moments with the Paris club were disappointing, and he was showered with boos after its final game of the season June 3.
Mbappé has been with PSG since 2017 after he joined on loan from Monaco, then signed via a transfer worth a reported $190 million. He was part of a PSG strategy to make young French talent the heart of the team that has won five French league titles with him on board.
Options for Mbappé, PSG’s all-time leading scorer with 212 goals, may be somewhat limited. One possibility is Newcastle, which earned a spot in the UEFA Champions League next season after a fourth-place finish in the English Premier League and is under new Saudi Arabian ownership.
Real Madrid could be a destination, and Mbappé has drawn its interest since he was a youth player. The club signed England star Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund this week after Karim Benzema left for Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, and Madrid team president Florentino Pérez recently hinted at a time frame for adding Mbappé, saying, “Yes, but not this year.” Two years ago, PSG turned down a transfer bid of more than $200 million from Madrid before Mbappé signed his current contract.
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Source: The Washington Post
