PSG
PSG and the ultras are preparing to make their final move with Mbappé
The player will not be a part of Luis Enrique’s plans for the first game of the season against Lorient and the club are waiting for action from the ultras.
Of all the measures that PSG have thrown at Mbappé over the past days and weeks, Saturday’s decision could be the one that finally gets what they want: a reaction or a public declaration from the player. The French club will play their league curtain-raiser against Lorient at the Parc de Princes in a game in which Kylian Mbappé will not be present; the club are also hoping for a reaction from the ultras in the stands, who are expected to show their dissatisfaction with the forward.
It would not be the first time that the club have used the home stadium as a location to show their intentions. In 2019, the ultras told Neymar, who had said he wanted to return to Barça, to leave. Although it was not a successful operation, as Brazilian continued in Paris, he was out of the squad until September and insults were directed at him from fans during every home game PSG played.
PSG expect the ultras to turn against Mbappé
Whistle against Mbappé have happened before, too. In 2021, ahead of a game against Strasbourg, fans from all sides of the ground booed him as it was understood that he was leaving for Real Madrid. Alas, like with Neymar, the player did not leave, and the whistles soon turned to applause; the player ended up resigning for two more years.
PSG are going to use every trick in the book to make Mbappé change his silent stance. If the stadium once again erupts against him, Qatar can play the card that the fans no longer want the player at the club. The player’s wishes have not changed, but a hostile reception, with the ultras asking for his departure and his head, we could soon see a change in tactics from Mbappé and those around him.
Mbappé continues to train away from the first team
For now, however, the attacker has blocked out all noise coming from his club and jumped over every obstacle put in his way. In Poissy, the new training ground, Mbappé has been training with the other ‘exiles’, yet he has acted as a professional at every moment, arriving on time and keeping his lips sealed in public.
His last public appearance was on June 15, the day he reiterated that he “wanted to stay for another year at PSG”. The pressure is on Al Khelaïfi, who is running out of options, to grind a different sentence out of Mbappé's mouth. Either he leaves, or a year in the stands awaits.
