Kylian Mbappe could leave Paris Saint-Germain this summer after informing the Ligue 1 side of his desire to quit the French capital at the expiration of his contract in June 2024.
Mbappe, 24, does not plan to trigger a one-year extension is his current Paris Saint-Germain contract, which expires in June 2024. If the World Cup winner does not have a change of mind before the deadline of July 31 or accept a new deal, PSG will listen to offers for him.
That has put Real Madrid, who attempted to sign Mbappe two years ago, on red alert. Liverpool also had interest in the France international in recent transfer windows, but it is believed the Reds will not break the bank to bring him to Merseyside.
As reported by The Telegraph, Liverpool and Premier League rivals Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle have all reduced interest in Mbappe.
Manchester United may still swoop for the player, but their interest depends on who buys the club. Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe are the two rival parties trying to complete a takeover of the Red Devils.
Real and Liverpool were the leading candidates to sign Mbappe before he agreed a new three-year contract with PSG back in May 2022. The final season of that deal is optional, with the player now confirming that option will not be activated.
News of Mbappe’s desire to leave PSG broke on Monday evening after a letter from the player to the club was leaked to French newspaper L’Equipe. Mbappe responded to the leak on Tuesday morning and confirmed his stance by releasing a statement.
It read: “The management of the club in charge of his extension, which was signed a year ago, was informed as of July 15, 2022 of the player’s decision and the letter had the sole objective to confirm what had already been clarified verbally beforehand.
“Kylian Mbappe and his entourage say they have never discussed this point again with the club during the year, except 15 days ago to announce the sending of the letter. Furthermore, no possible new extension has been discussed.”
The statement read further: “After having already publicly confirmed in recent weeks that he will be a Parisian next season, Kylian Mbappe has not asked for his departure this summer but has just confirmed to the club the non-activation of his additional year.”
Mbappe, who is PSG’s record scorer, also responded by tweeting: “LIES… At the same time, the bigger it is, the more it passes. I have already said that I will play next season at PSG, where I am very happy.”
Yet PSG do not want Mbappe to leave on a free transfer next summer and will try to sell him later this summer if they can’t persuade him to sign a new long-term deal or trigger the clause in his contract. A fascinating transfer saga awaits.
