Kylian Mbappe will continue to be excluded from the Paris St-Germain squad after refusing a new contract at the club which would have had a “guaranteed sale clause” allowing him to leave next summer.
PSG’s first-team is back in training in France on Monday, after returning from their pre-season tour to Japan and South Korea, but Mbappe will stay with the so-called “loft group” who are away from the ‘A’ main squad. The decision was taken on Sunday by the PSG hierarchy.
The “loft group” is comprised of players who are for sale and do not feature in PSG’s plans with the club rapidly re-shaping its team for the forthcoming campaign. They have agreed a deal to sign 22-year-old Portugal international striker Goncalo Ramos from Benfica for €80million (£69m) and are closing in on an agreement to bring in Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona for around €50m (£43.1m).
PSG would love Mbappe to stay but, with one year left on his contract, they believe he already has an agreement in place to join Real Madrid for free next summer. This has infuriated the club – they are considering making a formal ‘tapping up’ complaint to Fifa - who also point out that the 24-year-old has given eight interviews in which he has said he would want PSG to receive a fee for him when he eventually leaves. They believe Mbappe also reiterated this stance privately when his current contract was negotiated.
Madrid are expected to make a cash offer close to the end of the transfer window – there is a fear that they might lose Mbappe despite the apparent agreement – but will not negotiate with PSG at present because there is no need to.
PSG are unlikely to bench Mbappe indefinitely
That has also hampered the attempts of other clubs to enter into negotiations. There has, for example, been some tentative discussion of swap deal involving Harry Kane, who is in a similar contractual situation and has been subject to a final bid of close to €100m (£86.3m) from Bayern Munich, although it is impossible to see how Tottenham Hotspur could meet Mbappe’s wage demands.
Barcelona have offered three players, including Gavi, in exchange for Mbappe while Chelsea have also been considering a move. However no other club is likely to be able to match the €160million (£138.1m) signing-on fee that PSG believe Mbappe will receive if he joins Madrid.
PSG have once more attempted to resolve the situation by offering a new deal to Mbappe which would be another contract extension but one that offers him a guaranteed sale clause if a valuation – to be mutually agreed – is met next summer. Mbappe has refused to even enter into talks.
The dilemma for Mbappe is that while he holds the power over his future he risks featuring little next season in a campaign which culminates in the European Championships and also the Olympic Games in Paris. The forward is expected to captain France in both tournaments.
At the same time it is hard to believe that PSG will damage their own chances by benching Mbappe indefinitely. The most likely scenario remains that Madrid will make a cash offer close to deadline day with PSG left to evaluate whether it is worth them cutting their losses and accepting.
The club feel badly let down by Mbappe and find his latest refusal to negotiate incomprehensible because of the financial damage they believe it will cause to them.
