Since Mbappé declared in May that he would not extend his contract with PSG, which expires next year, tensions between the French champions and his team have been growing. And now they have reached a critical point, with the club authorities threatening to put him on the bench.
Paris Saint Germain ruled Mbappé out of their pre-season tour of Japan on Friday, without giving any reason for his omission.
The 29-man squad that will fly east on Saturday will include Mbappé’s younger brother, 16-year-old Ethan Mbappé, as well as Neymar, the club’s remaining superstar.
But the France captain, who has been taking part in the club’s pre-season preparations, has been ruled out.
“For the first time, PSG want to be stronger than their omnipotent star. They have created an inextricable situation,” French sports journalist Pierre Ammiche told RMC radio.
“Whatever happens, PSG is going to have to learn to do without Mbappé, at least on this tour,” he added.
🗣️💬 “For the first time, the PSG institution looks stronger than its omnipotent star. An inextricable situation that the club believes. When it arrives, PSG will have to learn the fair without Mbappé, au moins sur cette tournée.”
Mbappé / PSG, recital of a divorce @PierreAmmiche pic.twitter.com/WOhcnvbf91
— RMC (@RMCInfo) July 22, 2023
PSG’s decision to rule Mbappé out of the Japan tour is the latest controversy in what has been a long period of conflict between the 24-year-old star player and his club.
Relations between PSG and Mbappé soured last month after the French striker said he would not renew his contract, which expires at the end of next season, meaning he can leave for free in June 2024.
In case of renewal, PSG could not recover the 180 million euros (197 million dollars) that it invested in his signing. The President of PSG, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, has declared that they will not let him leave for free.
“We can’t let the best player in the world walk away for free. It’s impossible,” Khelaifi said.
Khelaifi even gave Mbappé an ultimatum of a “maximum two weeks” to make his decision: sign a new contract or leave this summer. That date roughly corresponds to the team’s departure to Japan.
If Mbappé refuses to sign, the club must sell him in this transfer window, otherwise they are likely to lose him for nothing when his contract runs out after next season.
For Nicole Kssis-Martov, journalist for the French sports magazine ‘So Foot’the conflict is “a big misunderstanding, a bad management of PSG” since the renewal of Mbappé’s contract last year, when “we had the impression that he would stay until 2025”.
According to him, the ongoing conflict is a “crisis situation” and a “PSG communication operation to explain to the fans that everything is the player’s fault.”
Leaving him on the bench would be a very violent action
The 24-year-old was expected to leave for Real Madrid a year ago at the end of his previous contract, but has agreed a new deal to remain in Paris.
It was a two-year contract, with the option of a third season that would take him until 2025, which the player has said he would not accept, although he has expressed his intention to extend his current contract.
Real Madrid, who did not sign him a year ago, would once again be one of his main suitors.
Real Madrid is looking for a new striker after Karim Benzema, current Ballon d’Or winner, ended his 14-year stay in the Spanish capital and left for Saudi Arabia.
Kssis-Martov admits that “Mbappé wins”. If he is traded this summer, he “will go to a great club,” and if he renews his contract with PSG, he “will have the keys to the game at PSG.”
“We are talking about one of the best players in the world, who is also the captain of the French team. Leaving him on the bench would be a very violent measure, but normally you don’t get to that,” he said.
Daniel Riolo, journalist and commentator for the program after foot from french radio RMCdescribed the conflict as “real pulse”.
“Mbappé is willing to assume and stay at PSG even without playing. For the moment, those around him are willing to accept anything and sacrifice a season,” he said.
🎙 @DanielRiolo : “Kylian Mbappé is ready to assume et à rester at PSG même sans jouer. A ce jour, dans son entourage, on est prêt à tout accepter et à sacrificer une saison. C’est un véritable bras de fer.” pic.twitter.com/8KydXOg1zL
— After Foot RMC (@AfterRMC) July 21, 2023
PSG have won nine of the last 11 Ligue 1 titles, but Mbappé’s frustration lies in his Champions League performances, a trophy the Parisian club has never won despite all its investment in the squad.
This year, PSG were eliminated in the round of 16 against Bayern Munich, without scoring in both games. Mbappé was injured in the first leg and assured that in the second leg they were “powerless”.
Mbappe said he was the “most decisive player” in the group stage but was unable to explain what PSG were missing, with the club hitting a “glass ceiling” in Europe.
“We did what we could, period. You have to talk to the people who make up the team, who organize the squad that builds this club,” he added.
*With AFP and Reuters; adapted from its original in French
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