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Real Madrid now the only hope for Paris Saint-Germain as they look to sell Kylian Mbappé
The France captain won’t extend his contract beyond 2024 and rejected the chance to speak to Al Hilal, leaving PSG desperate.
Paris Saint-Germain have tried everything in their power to force Kylian Mbappé out of the club this summer. However, the France captain has refused to take the bait and has instead been snapped on a daily basis signing autographs for fans with a big smile on his face after training away from the first-team squad. Time is running out for the Ligue 1 champions, with long-term admirers Real Madrid seemingly the only hope they have left.
PSG have very much been backed into a corner by Mbappé in the ultimate game of transfer chess, ever since 13 June, when he informed his employers he had no intention of extending his contract beyond 2024 to 2025. For the French side, it was akin to a public declaration of war, which they immediately tried to end, so far to no avail.
Mbappé refuses to speak to Al Hilal
Saudi Arabia was PSG president Nasser Al Khelaïfi’s last resort. On Wednesday, PSG gave Al Hilal permission to talk to Mbappé, who didn’t even want to listen to what the Saudi club’s representatives had to say after travelling to Paris. The 24-year-old has been clear from the beginning: he wants to see out the last year of his contract and leave for free in 2024.
The Parisians are well aware that they are in a perilous position and, in an attempt to change Mbappé's mind, took the drastic measure of leaving him in France as they set off for their pre-season tour of Japan, which hasn’t had the desired effect. PSG had hoped to have the player’s future settled one way or another by 31 July to get out of paying €40 million of an €80 million loyalty bonus he is due, although that appears to be highly unlikely.
PSG’s threat to banish France captain
They have even threatened to banish him to the stands for a year in an effort to usher him out the door with immediate effect, which they had hoped would happen after they swiftly accepted Al Hilal’s offer, which they surely would not have done if there was any hope of Mbappé extending his deal. Since 13 June, his stance hasn’t changed.
The stand-off has already caused an uproar in France and beyond, just a year before Paris will have the eyes of the world on it when it hosts the 2024 Olympic Games. Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of the French capital, has waded into the debate, while the UNFP, the French players’ union, has said it will take legal action against PSG if Mbappé continues to be frozen out until 1 September.
Real Madrid the only hope for PSG and Mbappé
The club’s Qatari owners Qatari Sports Investments, led by Al Khelaïfi, have leaked that many clubs are interested in signing the attacker, in order to jolt Real Madrid into action. The LaLiga giants are the only team Mbappé wants to sign for, but they have yet to make any kind of approach. As the days go by and the end of the transfer window gets closer, PSG’s desperation to get the player off their books will increase, which means they could end up being the ones calling up Blancos president Florentino Pérez looking to do a deal.
PSG sources have admitted that they wouldn’t refuse to sell to Real Madrid, despite the fact that relations between the two clubs have been non-existent since Mbappé's potential move to Spain in 2021 fell through. According to L’Équipe, intermediaries could be brought in to ensure a deal is done, provided Madrid decide to take the former Monaco star to the Santiago Bernabéu a year earlier than anticipated.
PSG silence on Mbappé transfer saga
Club bosses have instructed all employees, including the coaching staff and players, not to comment on the Mbappé saga during the team’s Japanese tour. Manager Luis Enrique isn’t now due to speak to the press until just before the Ligue 1 season gets underway on 12 August, with Qatar having previously believed the forward’s future would be resolved long before then. The players, meanwhile, are well aware of what is going on but won’t discuss the situation in public either.
Every day is another step closer to the end of the Kylian Mbappé soap opera, although none of us can be sure when its final episode will be. What seems inevitable however, is that it will drag on much longer than Paris Saint-Germain would like.