Leonardo: PSG won’t beg Neymar and Mbappe to stay

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo has confirmed that the club hope Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will remain in Paris but won’t beg them to stick around.

Although Neymar joined the club in 2017 and Mbappe followed one year later, both players have contracts that will expire in 2022. 

That puts the Ligue 1 side in a tricky position. If either player decides he has no intention of renewing his contract, PSG will likely be forced to sell him this summer before his expiring contract begins to impact on his price. 

As such, Leonardo and the PSG hierarchy are doing all they can to convince both Mbappe and Neymar to sign new contracts. 

However, the sporting director believes the decision will come down to whether either player genuinely wants to stay at PSG and believes the club can match their desires. 

“I hope they are convinced that PSG is a good place at the moment for a very high level and ambitious football player,” said Leonardo in an interview with France Football. 

“We just have to find an agreement between their desires, their requirements, our expectations and our means. 

“We don’t have to beg them: “Please stay.” It’s more argued than that. Those who really want to stay will remain. We talk regularly and I have good feelings on these two issues.” 

While PSG are used to being linked with star players at other clubs, the French champions may not take too kindly to the continued reports linking Mbappe with a move to Real Madrid. 

According to consistent reports throughout the season, the Spanish giants held off on splashing the cash last summer in the hope that they would be able to entice the French international to Madrid with an overwhelming offer. 

Should Mbappe continue to evade any efforts to extend his contract in Paris, PSG may then feel obliged to consider offers for the striker. And as such, it may not be so farfetched to imagine the young striker in the white of Madrid next season.