French Ligue 1
I didn’t ask to be sold to Real Madrid, says Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe said he never asked Paris St Germain to allow him to move to Real Madrid in the close season, confirming that he is happy to play in the French capital next season but will not extend his contract with the Ligue 1 champions.
Mbappe caused a stir when he sent a letter to the club stating that he had no intention to extend his PSG contract, which expires in 2024 if he does not activate the clause that will extend his deal by a further 12 months.
PSG find themselves in a fix as they risk losing Mbappe for free in June 2024. He will also be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a new club from January should he decide to see out the remaining year of his deal at PSG.
“I didn’t ask either to be sold or to go to Real Madrid,” Mbappe told Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I just confirmed that I don’t want to activate the extra year foreseen in the contract. We have never talked about a renewal with PSG, but I’m happy to stay here next season.”
However, if Mbappe stays until the end of the 2023-24 season, the French club will be unable to recoup any of the 180 million euros ($194.45 million) they spent in 2017 to sign the forward from AS Monaco.
Real Madrid have courted Mbappe in the past but failed to land the 24-year-old, who signed a contract extension with PSG in May last year.
However, the Spanish club are rebuilding their team after losing several attacking players, including Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, and could turn their eye to Mbappe who has finished top scorer in Ligue 1 for the last five seasons.
PSG will also want to avoid a complete rebuild of their forward line after losing Lionel Messi on a free transfer when the Argentine World Cup winner opted not to extend his contract at the end of the season.
Messi had been booed and jeered by PSG fans towards the end of the season after their Champions League last-16 exit and Mbappe said the seven-times Ballon d’Or winner did not get the respect he deserved in France.
“We’re talking about potentially the best player in the history of football. It’s never good news when someone like Messi leaves,” Mbappe said.
“Personally, I don’t quite understand why so many people were so relieved that he was gone… It’s a shame, but that’s how it went. We will have to do what we can to replace him.”
–Reuters
French Ligue 1
Sacked former Cote d’ivoire coach, Gasset announces retirement as Marseille manager
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/gasset.jpg)
Jean-Louis Gasset who was sacked by Cote d’Ivoire after the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations last January has announced his retirement as a coach of Olympique de Marseille.
He will take charge of his last game on Sunday before retiring from management, the 70-year-old said on Friday.
Gasset was appointed as interim manager by the Ligue 1 club in February after the sacking of Gennaro Gattuso, and Marseille are eight in the standings going into their final Ligue 1 game of the season at Le Havre.
“Sunday will be the last match of my career,” Gasset told a press conference.
“That I stay in football, that my experience, my ideas and my networks are used is a possibility. I don’t know how to garden, I won’t have anything to do. But as a coach, it’s over.”
The Frenchman’s previous job was with Ivory Coast from which he was sacked after the team’s poor performances in the Africa Cup of Nations group stage. They scraped through as the last lucky losers before going on to win the tournament on home soil.
-Reuters
French Ligue 1
Departing Mbappe backs good friend Dembele to become Ligue 1’s best
![Sealed And Delivered! Mbappe Has Already Signed Contract With Real Madrid -](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Sealed-And-Delivered-Mbappe-Has-Already-Signed-Contract-With-Real.jpg)
Kylian Mbappe has backed winger Ousmane Dembele to be a success at Paris St Germain and fill his boots after he exits the club, as he won his fifth successive Ligue 1 Player of the Year award.
France captain Mbappe, 25, last week announced that he will leave the French champions at the end of the season after a seven-year stay, during which he became their all-time top scorer with 256 goals.
Mbappe’s frustration lies with PSG’s performances in the Champions League, a trophy they have never lifted despite huge investment in the squad. He has been heavily linked with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid, who are in the final this year seeking a 15th European crown.
His 26-year-old compatriot Dembele joined the Parisian club, who have won 10 of the last 12 Ligue 1 titles, from LaLiga side Barcelona in August last year, signing a five-year deal.
“I have shared and played with incredible players, like Dembele who is here, he is a friend and one day he will pick up this award,” Mbappe said on Monday at the award ceremony.
“I thank the club as a whole, the coach, who has helped me and trusted me, his staff, the doctors, all the people at the club, the sporting management, the president, the shareholders of the club, of course, the Emir of Qatar who came to find me at the age of 18, who has accompanied me in all my decisions…”
He said his next chapter is going to be very exciting but did not reveal any further details.
“Now I’m turning the page in my life. Everything that comes next is super exciting, but that’s another subject,” Mbappe said.
“Thank you all, I’m going to miss you. I have always tried to do my best, and I also want to thank my family, who have always been with me in good times and bad.
“My father, who is here, I know that it was very important to him that I made history in Ligue 1 before I left and I think that with humility I have done everything you wanted.”
-Reuters
French Ligue 1
Mbappe Set To Quit PSG –
![Sealed And Delivered! Mbappe Has Already Signed Contract With Real Madrid -](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Sealed-And-Delivered-Mbappe-Has-Already-Signed-Contract-With-Real.jpg)
France captain Kylian Mbappe has informed Paris St Germain that he is leaving the club in July as a free agent seven years after joining them, The Athletic website reported on Thursday.
Mbappe, a member of France’s 2018 World Cup-winning team, signed for PSG from Monaco in 2017 for 180 million euros ($194 million) to become the second most expensive player ever after Brazilian Neymar, who joined the French champions the same year for 222 million euros.
“Mbappe has communicated his decision to PSG but the terms of his exit are yet to be fully agreed. An official announcement is expected once the situation is finalised in the next few months,” the report said.
The 25-year-old striker, who helped the capital club win five Ligue 1 titles and three French Cups, is PSG’s all-time leading scorer with 243 goals in 290 appearances.
PSG have not responded to a request for comment.
Mbappe last year sent a letter to PSG stating that he would not take up the option to extend his contract by a year when it expires in June.
He has long been linked with Real Madrid, reportedly rejecting a 200 million euro ($215.36 million) offer in 2021. He was again set for a move to the LaLiga side in 2022 before announcing a contract extension with PSG before the transfer window opened.
PSG, who lead the Ligue 1 standings by 11 points, host Nice on Friday.
-Reuters
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