Contract situation puts PSG in a pickle

Will Kylian Mbappe stay at Paris Saint-Germain or go this summer? Could he negotiate a new contract with the French champion?

Bluff or final decision?

The 24-year-old surprised everyone when he decided in May last year to sign a new deal with PSG, just a few days before his previous contract expired.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi announced the news on the Parc des Princes pitch prior to the team's final match of the 2021/22 season, while the player posed with a shirt with "Mbappe 2025" printed on the back.

At the time, the club communicated that Mbappe had signed a three-year extension, but in reality it was a two-year contract (until 2024, therefore) with the option of a third year that the player himself could choose to activate, or not.

Mbappe said in a letter to the club on Monday that he would not activate that option.

Given that Mbappe made that decision in advance of a fixed July 31 deadline, it could be interpreted as a definitive decision and that he will not change his mind again.

However, it could also be seen as part of a power struggle, with Mbappe seeking to obtain new guarantees about the team PSG will field next season, and perhaps more money.

Will PSG sell?

On Monday night, PSG officials made clear their anger after the letter Mbappe had just sent them was leaked to the press. The club immediately put out a message to say it would not be manipulated by a player, even its biggest and most valuable star.

The club's position appears to be that it will not allow Mbappe to leave for free in 2024, which will be the case if he stays one more year without agreeing a new deal.

That means the only options are to negotiate new terms or sell to the highest bidder in the current transfer window, which runs into the start of next season and closes on Sept 1.

However, the player said in a statement sent to AFP on Tuesday that he had never discussed extending his contract with the club and said he had maintained "publicly in recent weeks that he would be a PSG player next season," that he had "not asked to leave this summer".

How much is Mbappe worth?

Mbappe signed for PSG from Monaco on a season-long loan in August 2017, which turned into a permanent transfer the following year in a 180-million-euro ($195 million) deal.

The 2018 World Cup winner, who scored a hat-trick in last year's World Cup final as France lost to Argentina on penalties, would command an enormous transfer fee if PSG chose to sell now.

PSG reportedly turned down a bid of 200 million euros from Real Madrid in 2021, when Mbappe was entering the final year of his previous contract.

Player valuation site Transfermarkt lists Mbappe's current price as 180 million euros, and it is hard to imagine PSG agreeing to sell its superstar for less than what it paid for him.

The only player ever sold for more is Neymar, who PSG signed for a record 222 million euros from Barcelona in 2017, a few weeks before the French giant recruited Mbappe.

AFP