PSG threaten Madrid and Mbappé with a repeat of 'The Rabiot method'
The Ligue 1 side refused to sell the player during the summer of 2018 after both sides fail to agree contract renewal terms.
Real Madrid's interest remains intact in securing the services of Kylian Mbappé, who scored a stunning hat-trick in Paris Saint-Germain’s 4-1 Champions League thumping of Barcelona on Tuesday) and the plan to go after the 22-year-old this summer is still contemplated by the Spanish side. The striker's current deal with the Ligue 1 side expires in June 2022 and despite the financial problems accentuated by the covid-19 pandemic, Florentino Perez still views the player as a key piece in the Madrid of the future.
The Real Madrid line of approach makes sense on paper. Come this summer, Mbappé will have a year to run on his deal and PSG will be worried that a year later the forward would be able to walk away from Paris on a free transfer. This was Real Madrid's strategy in securing the signatures of both Courtois and Hazard but it's expected that, unlike Chelsea, PSG are expected to play 'hardball'.
Rabiot strategy
PSG don't want Mbappé to talk to any would-be suitors and are planning to offer the striker a salary raise that would see him earn the same as Neymar (36 million euro per campaign) and ensure that sees out his deal with the Parisian side. They applied a similar strategy with Adrien Rabiot who is now with Juventus.
Rabiot rejected a series of contract renewals with PSG during the 2017-18 and then again during 2018-19 with the player wanting to run the deal down and then move on as a free agent. Such was the tension between both sides, that the player was banished to the sidelines for the final six months of his deal before finally moving to the Serie A side on a free.
It's unlikely that Mbappé would be sidelined from the side and would only use this strategy as a last resort. PSG are optimistic that Mbappé will, ultimately renew his deal and a decent showing in the Champions League this year and next ahead of next year's World Cup are integral to this process.