PSG
PSG’s worries grow regarding Mbappé and the Parc de Princes
The French club have two huge worries heading into the final quarter of the season: Mbappé and their stadium, the Parc de Princes.
Paris Saint-Germain will have to tackle two huge problems in the coming months, and the outcome of both remain uncertain. The first, more urgent than any other, is the future of Kylian Mbappé. The latest reports circulating in France suggest that the striker has already made the decision to leave PSG in June, although the club is not aware, for the moment, if the captain of the French national team has indeed made a final decision.
The future of the French player will define PSG’s roadmap - and that of French football as a whole - from next summer. Renewing his contract, something that cannot yet be ruled out, (because if this soap opera has taught us one thing, it is not to take anything for granted), would mean smacking a fist on the table again, but the club’s room for manoeuvre would be greatly reduced.
There is already, in the event that Mbappé does not renew, a Plan B: Rafael Leão, from Milan, is one of the top targets that PSG are monitoring in the event that the departure of their current star is confirmed.
Where next for Mbappé: PSG or Real Madrid?
The uncertainty surrounding the striker’s future is somewhat similar to what happened two years ago, when everyone believed that Mbappé would play for Real Madrid, but finally agreed with PSG on a two-season contract with an option for an additional season, which the player did not execute. The main difference is that the French media, optimistic in 2022, are more and more pessimistic and are suggesting that the star will play for Los Blancos next season, even if he has not yet reached an agreement.
Al Khelaïfi will be the first to know the decision of the top scorer in the history of PSG, to whom he has offered, according to RMC Sport, a renewal agreement with a significant salary increase - €72 million per season. The Qatari president, who will be one of the opening speakers at the UEFA Congress to be held in Paris this week, is impatiently awaiting a response, although he has repeated the message that “they are protected”, having agreed with Mbappé to defer the 80 million loyalty bonuses due to the forward.
Will PSG leave the Parc de Princes next season?
Another issue to be addressed by PSG’s management is the move from the Parc des Princes. If Al Khelaïfi, who gave the local council (the stadium’s owner) a three-month deadline, keeps his promise, the Parisian side will look for a new ground to build a venue that could hold up to 80,000 spectators. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, reaffirmed on Tuesday her position of not selling the ground to the club, contemplating only a lease, meaning the positions between the parties are further apart than ever.
PSG want to own the stadium in its entirety in order to be able to undertake various renovations, while the city only envisages a lease contract through the transfer of the right of useage, albeit with limitations to the gigantic reform that Nasser Al Khelaïfi and Qatar want. Therefore, the club, still waiting on Mbappé's decision, could then focus on finding a piece of land that satisfies the desires of all involved.