PSG planning French revamp to keep Mbappe from Real Madrid

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 6 Apr 2023 14:47 BST
• 3 min read

Paris Saint-Germain will pull out all the stops in the transfer market this summer in a bid to persuade Kylian Mbappe to stay in the French capital at Real Madrid's expense.

Mbappe nearly joined Real Madrid last year, and los Blancos had reportedly planned his unveiling at the Santiago Bernabeu before the player U-turned, signing a bumper new contract with PSG.

Paris made Mbappe the best paid footballer in the world until Cristiano Ronaldo's €200 million a year deal with Al-Nassr, but he has continued to publicly vent his frustration, most recently claiming the club wasn't 'Kylian Saint-Germain' amid a marketing campaign.

READ: 'Not Kylian Saint-Germain!' - Mbappe puts PSG future in doubt with social media attack

According to l'Equipe, Mbappe is one of just seven players the club are unwilling to sell, though, the new France captain joined on that shortlist by PSG leader Marquinhos, long-time midfielder Marco Verratti and goalkeeper Gigio Donnarumma.

Big names for sale

Conspicuous by their absence are Lionel Messi and Neymar. While Messi appears to be nearing a return to Barcelona at the end of his contract this summer, Paris have struggled to find any takers for Neymar, who still two - with the option of three - years left to run.

Sporting director Luis Campos is assessing the rest of the squad between now and the rest of the season, with a view to replacing dead wood with the brightest young French talent in the game.

READ: The 10 highest valued players in the world

French daily newspaper state that PSG have a five -man shortlist of Khephren Thuram, Randal Kolo Muani, Youssouf Fofana, Manu Kone and Rayan Cherki.

Whether PSG sign each of those players remains to be seen - Thuram, Fofana and Kone are each central midfielders - but to philosophy of signing young French players is something club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has touched upon before.

"I dream of a future where this club can field a team of only Parisian players," he said last August, at the same time as seeming to target Neymar in saying that the days of "blin-bling" at PSG are over.