LIGUE !
Will Real Madrid target Kylian Mbappé play for PSG in the first Ligue 1 game of the season against Lorient?
The France captain was left out of the Ligue 1 champions’ trip to Japan and has been forced to train with the reserves.
Unless something drastic happens, Real Madrid target Kylian Mbappé is not expected to train with Paris Saint-Germain’s first-team on Monday following their return from their pre-season trip to Japan. According to French media outlet RMC Sport, the France captain will remain frozen out and forced to train with the reserves (in the “loft”, as they say in his homeland), with no change in the stance of the club or president Nasser Al Khelaïfi. PSG bosses are still hopeful the threat of spending the whole season in the stands will force Mbappé to agree to a transfer this summer.
Will Mbappé be involved against Lorient next weekend?
The same source claims that there is next to no chance of the 24-year-old being involved in PSG’s first league game of the season next weekend, which will see them face Lorient at the Parc des Princes on Saturday 12 August. The Parisians have left no stone unturned in their attempts to sell him, but the player is determined to see out the remaining year of his current contract, which expires in June 2024, and has no intention of extending it. Mbappé has so far not taken the bait set by his employers and will only leave if Madrid move to take him to Spain, which they have yet to do.
How does new head coach Luis Enrique feel about Mbappé?
Luis Enrique, meanwhile, will be left cursing his luck that PSG’s star player and owners are locked in such a dispute just as he takes over as head coach. RMC Sport claim the Spaniard is unsurprisingly disappointed with the situation and had hoped to work with Mbappé, even though he knew things could play out this way when he agreed to take over. Al Khelaïfi is aware of the former Barcelona boss’ discontent and is struggling to understand why the French striker has so far refused to extend his deal, which would include a release clause for next summer.
Why must PSG integrate Mbappé back into first-team training on 2 September?
Paris Saint-Germain can keep Mbappé in the “loft” (i.e. out in the cold) until 1 September as they scramble around in an effort to resolve his future one way or another. Between 1 July and 1 September, clubs can organise their squads however they wish, as established by law in French soccer’s collective agreement called the French Football Charter, signed by the French football players’ union (UNFP), the French Football Federation (FFF) and the LFP (the Ligue de Football Professionnel, who run the professional leagues in France). From 2 September onwards, however, the club would then have to justify why Mbappé has been kept away from first-team training, which would be difficult given what we know.
What kind of reception will Mbappé, and indeed the club, receive from fans when play gets underway at the Parc des Princes on 12 August? Get ready for another potential twist in the tale.