Revealed: The player PSG failed to sign to keep Mbappe happy
FT Desk
- 14 Oct 2022 09:00 BST
- 3 min read
Kylian Mbappe wants to leave PSG just five months after signing a bumper new contract, with unfulfilled promises and unsigned players reportedly part of the reason why.
Mbappe was close to joining Real Madrid at the end of last season, and preparations for his presentation at the Santiago Bernabeu were already underway.
But he ended up staying with Paris Saint-Germain. French president Emmanuel Macron even petitioned the young forward, who was eventually persuaded by a €100 million signing on fee and €50m a year until 2025.
OFFICIAL: Kylian Mbappe has signed a new PSG contract 📝 pic.twitter.com/vDaJyzDodv
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) May 21, 2022
Also central to Mbappe's decision was the fact that he was to be handed an unprecedented say in the sporting direction of the club, a cornerstone of which was getting rid of Neymar, who missed every March fixture for his sister's birthday and was seen as a disruptive influence on the dressing room.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi publicly criticised Neymar before the new season, but the club failed to offload the Brazilian to Chelsea and Juventus, and he has stayed, with his contract rolling over until 2027 in July.
MNM doing well at surface level
New coach Christophe Galtier - who had Mbappe's support - has since instituted a 3-4-2-1 system which seemingly gets the best out of 'MNM' with Lionel Messi and Neymar tucked in behind Mbappe.
Much to Mbappe's chagrin, Neymar is shining brightest this season, and has 11 goals and nine assists this season at a rate of one inside every hour he has played. Mbappe has publicly complained about playing up front, and it was widely reported that a lack of a No.9 was frustrating him.
But it turns out Aurelien Tchoumeni is the player Mbappe felt most let down about.
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"Mbappe's first recommendation in terms of reinforcements was Tchouameni," report Spanish sports daily Marca. "But he was already committed to Real Madrid. Now unleashed is the situation today, with Mbappe and Neymar in the same dressing room, which seems irreconcilable."
Tchouameni joined Real from Mbappe's former club Monaco in a €100m deal in June, and now Mbappe seems keen to join his France teammate at the Bernabeu instead. Whether they go for him or not having already been spurned remains to be seen.
