How PSG plan to respond to Mbappe transfer demands
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 23 May 2023 08:46 CDT
- 3 min read
Kylian Mbappe sent shockwaves around world football on Tuesday when it was effectively confirmed that he wants to leave PSG in January.
Less than six months after signing a new two-year deal with the club, the 23-year-old has been left frustrated by what he perceives to be broken promises from the Parc des Princes outfit.
Amid all the noise, he still managed to score PSG’s goal in a 1-1 draw against Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday, making him the club’s all-time leading scorer in the competition, while the club’s sporting director Luis Campos claimed that the player has never approached him with a problem.
Nonetheless, the widespread reports from numerous sources suggest otherwise. RMC first broke the news on Monday and were swiftly followed by Marca in Spain. This came around a day after Mbappe had taken to Instagram to land a blow to the management of the club with a now infamous #PivotGang Instagram story.
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What’s next for PSG and Mbappe?
L’Equipe reports that Mbappe has not made a formal request to PSG to leave either in January or next summer. Unsurprisingly, the club have no desire for the player to leave in either window, but certainly not in the middle of the season.
PSG’s hand could be forced next summer, though. The one optional year in Mbappe’s contract can only be triggered by the player, and with this looking unlikely, next summer could be the last realistic opportunity for them to sell.
They are unlikely to repeat the scenario of 2022, whereby the striker nears the end of his deal surrounded by uncertainty, and having made sizeable losses in 2021/22, they could well choose to sell him.
It has been suggested that PSG could delve into the January market in a bid to head off this problem, first and foremost targeting a striker to allow Mbappe to play in his preferred role out wide. The player’s unhappiness, though, appears to have gone beyond this salvaging the situation.
In terms of possible transfer destinations, Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester City are all discussed, but the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United must also be considered potential suitors for Mbappe.
