French Ligue 1
Mbappe not ruling out PSG stay, clears the air with Neymar
Kylian Mbappe on Tuesday (Oct 5) fell short of saying he would leave Paris St Germain when his contract expires at the end of the season but Real Madrid president Florentino Perez said he was optimistic the France striker would join the Spanish giants.
The 22-year-old told the Ligue 1 club he wanted to join Real Madrid during the close season, only for PSG to turn down the Spanish club’s offers.
Asked if he was going to leave next summer, Mbappe told French sports daily L’Equipe: “I’ve been in football long enough now to know that yesterday’s truth is not necessarily today’s, nor tomorrow’s. If I was told that Messi was going to play at PSG, I wouldn’t have believed it, so you never know what’s going to happen.”
Perez, however, told Spanish paper El Debate on Monday that his club would have news on Mbappe in January.
“Hopefully, everything can be sorted on the first of January,” he said.
Perez’s comments prompted an angry reaction from PSG sporting director Leonardo.
“It’s been going on for two years,” the Brazilian told L’Equipe.
“I just remind you that the transfer window is closed, that a season is under way.
“There are matches and Real Madrid cannot continue to behave in this way. Let it stop! Kylian is a player of Paris St Germain and the club wants this relationship to last.”
Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar form what is regarded as the most exciting attacking trio in club football, but they have struggled to gel, with Mbappe showing his frustration towards the Brazilian.
Mbappe was heard saying “this bum, he never passes to me” in a Ligue 1 game against Montpellier last month.
“Yes, yes, I said that. Now, these are things that happen all the time in soccer. It’s just not something that sticks. That’s why, immediately afterwards, seeing how big it had become, I talked to him about it,” said Mbappe.
“We’ve exchanged a lot of words like that in the past and we’ll continue to do so, because we want to win, but there shouldn’t be any hard feelings. There is no resentment at all because I respect the player and the man and I admire what he is.”
Mbappe now wants to focus on football.
“Right now, my future is not my priority,” he said. “I’ve already wasted a lot of energy this summer, and it was tiring.”
Mbappe is with the France squad as they prepare for this week’s Nations League Final Four tournament with a semi-final against Belgium on Thursday and the PSG forward is looking to put his Euro 2020 disappointment behind him.
His miss in the penalty shootout against Switzerland effectively knocked the world champions out in the last 16 and Mbappe faced stern criticism in France as well as racist abuse.
“What shocked me, once again, was to be called a monkey for a penalty,” he said.
“That’s why I wanted support, not because I took my penalty on the left and (Yann) Sommer stopped it. That’s my fault.”
-Reuters
Paul Pogba has joined AS Monaco on a free transfer after signing a two-year contract, the Ligue 1 club said on Saturday, as the 32-year-old French midfielder looks to revive his career following a doping ban.
Pogba was handed a four-year doping ban in February 2024 after testing positive for DHEA, which boosts testosterone levels. The suspension was cut to 18 months after a successful appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Italian club Juventus announced in November that they had mutually agreed to terminate his contract, which was due to expire in June 2026.
The 2018 World Cup winner had a disappointing second spell with Juventus due to injuries after returning to the Turin-based club following his departure from Manchester United on a free transfer in 2022.
Pogba was signed by United in 2016 for a then-world record fee of 89 million pounds ($122 million) but the four-times Serie A champion won only two trophies with the Premier League club — the League Cup and Europa League in his first season.
He last played for France in 2022 but knee surgery prevented him from appearing at the World Cup in Qatar.
Monaco finished third behind Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain and Olympique de Marseille last season.
-Reuters
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After Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi signed a contract extension with French Ligue 1 side, Paris Saint-Germain, he became the World’s most-paid fullback.
The Moroccan international will earn a staggering €70 million in wages over his new five-year deal, cementing his status as football’s highest-paid defender.
He signed a contract extension with the French champions until 2029. The new deal adds three years to his previous contract, which was set to expire in 2026.
His net salary is increasing from €10 million to €14 million per season (€28 million gross).
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The 2024 Ballon d’Or nominee and Super Eagles winger, Ademola Lookman, is almost certain to leave the Serie A in the coming winter transfer window following interest from Premiership but the biggest interest is from Paris Saint Germaine.
The AFCON 2024 silver medal winner with Nigeria has been on the radar of the London side, West Ham United and three other sides from the league but all is more certain that the London club will find it difficult to compete for the signature of Atalanta star according to Football Insider.
Reports have suggested that the Irons are ready to swoop for the Nigeria international in the January transfer window.
However, sources say there will be “huge interest” from Europe in the 27-year-old ex-Everton star.
Paris Saint-Germain will be the frontrunner for the forward if he becomes available in the coming months.
Additionally, Lookman plays in the same area of the pitch as West Ham’s big-money summer signings Crysencio Summerville and Luis Guilherme.
The London-born has raised his stock with his displays for Atalanta since joining from RB Leipzig in 2022.
He finished 14th in the Ballon d’Or rankings this year after leading the Italian side to a Europa League title last term.
Lookman has already hit five goals and contributed five assists in 10 games across all competitions this term.
The forward, who is under contract until June 2026, hit 17 goals and notched 10 assists in 45 appearances last season.
West Ham are unlikely to have serious funds to spend in the January window after their lavish spending in the off-season.
Julen Lopetegui’s side started slowly and sat 13th in the Premier League after nine games.
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