Kylian Mbappe on Monday told Paris Saint-Germain that he would not be taking up an option to extend his contract until 2025, raising the specter of him following Lionel Messi out of the club this summer.
The 24-year-old France striker’s current deal expires at the end of next season, with the option of another year. If he does not sign, the French champions risk losing him for nothing in a year’s time — so they could now sell him this summer rather than miss out on a windfall for one of the world’s best players.
Mbappe’s decision not to renew, announced in a letter to the club and revealed by the French sports daily L’Equipe, is a fresh blow to PSG following the loss of Messi to Inter Miami.
Photo: AFP
There had been a deadline of July 31 for Mbappe to decide.
Mbappe’s move comes a little over a year since he snubbed Real Madrid by signing a surprise extension to his contract to remain at the Parc des Princes.
Real would again be chief among his suitors.
Mbappe’s entourage did not respond immediately when asked for a comment late on Monday evening.
The striker’s departure for free at the end of his current contract, in the summer of next year, would prove catastrophic for PSG.
In addition to the void left in the team, the club would also be deprived of the millions of euros a transfer would earn.
The future of Brazilian star striker Neymar, under contract until 2025, also appears vague ahead of what is shaping up to be a summer of upheaval in the French capital.
Mbappe joined on a season-long loan from AS Monaco in August 2017 that turned into a permanent deal for 180 million euros (US$194 million).
He helped France to World Cup glory as a teenager in 2018 and has established himself as arguably the leading forward on the global stage.
Mbappe also scored a hat-trick in France’s FIFA World Cup final defeat to Messi’s Argentina last year and helped Paris Saint-Germain win a record 11th Ligue 1 title, but he hinted last month that he could leave next year.
“I said that next year I will play at PSG. I still have a year of contract so I will honor my contract,” he said when asked about his future at an awards ceremony where he was voted Ligue 1 Player of the Season for the fourth consecutive time.
At Clairefontaine on Monday, where France are preparing for their next Euro 2024 qualifiers, the striker appeared relaxed. Smiling and joking with coach Didier Deschamps and fellow attacker Antoine Griezmann, he participated in afternoon training and signed dozens of autographs for fans.
The announcement of Mbappe’s intentions to PSG are yet another annoyance for the club’s Qatari owners following a difficult season on and off the pitch, despite winning the French title.
After another failure in the UEFA Champions League, the club are working to find a successor to coach Christophe Galtier.
As for Neymar, the Brazilian’s fitness has regularly been a concern for PSG, ever since he signed from Barcelona for a world-record fee of 222 million euros in 2017.
He has scored 118 goals in 173 games for PSG, but has missed more than 100 games due either to injury or suspension.
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TO REAL MADRID? Kylian Mbappe informed PSG privately in February of his intention to depart when his contract expires, but this was the first time he acknowledged it publicly French soccer player Kylian Mbappe on Friday confirmed that he is to leave French champions Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, with Real Madrid widely expected to be his next destination. The announcement brings an end to a prolific association with his hometown team, which began when he signed from AS Monaco in 2017 in a deal worth 180 million euros (US$194 million). “I wanted to announce to you all that it’s my last year at Paris Saint-Germain. I will not extend and the adventure will come to an end in a few weeks,” Mbappe, 25, said in a video