LIGUE 1
PSG already lining up Mbappé replacements
The end of one soap opera concludes as Mbappé informs PSG he will exit the club next summer. Cue soap opera #2, where will he end up?
One of the biggest stories of the last five years, which has generated thousands of column inches and countless speculation and intrigue finally seems to be coming to an end as Kylian Mbappé is set to leave PSG. The news, broken originally by The Athletic and verified by AS on Thursday evening, has led to dismay in the world of French football as Ligue 1 is set to lose its greatest asset with the PSG striker set to embark on a new chapter in his career.
Mbappé informed PSG director Al Khelaïfi of his intentions on Tuesday, before PSG’s training session ahead of the Champions League Round of 16 clash against Real Sociedad. The striker’s objective was to free himself from issues concerning his future and the striker remained true to his word in initially informing the Qatari executive of his decision not to remain in Paris. The PSG president then told Luis Enrique the news but seemed to have little impact on the player’s performance against Real Sociedad with the striker bagging the first goal as part of a 2-0 win.
Both the club and player will stage a press conference together in the forthcoming months to officially announce the decision and despite all signs indicating that the forward will sport the famous white Real Madrid jersey next season, Arsenal and Liverpool have been cited as alternative destinations.
His departure from Parc des Princes also heralds the end of the PSG ‘galactico’ project with Neymar and Messi having departed the Parisian side for new adventures in Saudi Arabia and the US respectively.
PSG eyeing replacements
PSG, however, have long suspected that Mbappé's time in Paris was set to come to an end. In France, pessimism had been creeping in for weeks, despite Al Khelaïfi’s attempts to remain calm in front of the media. The club have in parallel being working on life without Mbappé next season and according to early speculation Victor Osimhen (Napoli) and Rafael Leao (Milan) are two of the strikers the club are looking at as potential strikers to lead the PSG attack for the 2024-25 campaign.