Paris Saint-Germain have rejected a €160 million offer from Real Madrid for Kylian Mbappe, but the French club’s sporting director Leonardo on Wednesday (Aug 25) admitted that they will not be able to keep the World Cup winner “if he wants to leave”.
“Our position has always been the same, to keep Kylian and extend his contract,” Leonardo told several media including AFP as he discussed the future of Mbappe, whose current contract expires at the end of this season.
It emerged on Tuesday that Real had made a bid for Mbappe, a player they have courted ever since he was a young boy, was invited with his parents to take in a game at the Santiago Bernabeu and was taken to meet Zinedine Zidane at their training ground.
The offer has been knocked back by PSG, who say it is “not enough” for someone who arrived from Monaco in 2017 in a €180 million deal.
Real, though, are laying the ground to bring in Mbappe now, even though he will be able to sign as a free agent next summer if he does not extend his contract in Paris.
“If a player wants to leave, he will leave. The club, the project is bigger than any one person,” said Leonardo, the Brazilian, as he slammed the Spanish giants for being “disrespectful” in their approach of the 22-year-old.
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“It is a strategy, to get a no from us so they can say they tried everything.
“They have been behaving like this for two years. It’s disrespectful, inappropriate, illegal, and for us it is unacceptable.”
The offer comes with just six days to go before the summer transfer window in Europe closes on Aug 31 and with PSG desperate to keep hold of a player they still consider their crown jewel despite the presence of Neymar and, now, of Lionel Messi in the French capital.
The uncertainty over Mbappe’s future has gone on for months, and at the end of last season the striker hinted he would only commit his future to his hometown team if they showed sufficient ambition in the transfer market.
Improved bid to come?
PSG finished second in Ligue 1 last season to Lille and lost to Manchester City in the semi-finals of the Champions League, the trophy they covet more than anything.
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They responded by going out and signing some of the world’s biggest and most exciting names, with Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Georginio Wijnaldum and Achraf Hakimi all arriving before the sensational recruitment of Messi.
With Neymar and Messi yet to play this season, Mbappe has played a central role as PSG have won their opening three Ligue 1 games. He netted his first goal of the campaign last weekend against Brest.
“We have done everything for Kylian, even this transfer window has been built around him,” insisted Leonardo.
However, he admitted it “seems clear” that Mbappe – who was born and brought up in the Paris suburbs – wants to go and said the player had “always promised that he would not go for free”.
Those comments suggest Mbappe is therefore likely to leave this month, at least as long as Real come back with an improved offer.
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In contrast to their great rivals Barcelona, who could not keep Messi due to their debt problems, Madrid’s financial situation is strong.
According to their latest accounts published in July, the 13-time European champions boast net assets of €534 million and had €122 million cash in the bank.
Their total wage bill for last season was €448 million, slightly below the limit of €473.3 million set by La Liga.
Since then they have got Ramos’ enormous salary off the wage bill and sold Raphael Varane, another high earner, to Manchester United for a reported €40 million, while raising a similar amount from the sale of Martin Odegaard to Arsenal.
“Real Madrid could sign Mbappe,” said La Liga president Javier Tebas in June, adding the arrival of the Frenchman “would be very good” for the Spanish game.
Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.
Paris St Germain's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scores their first goal. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Paris Saint-Germain secured a fifth successive Ligue 1 title, beating nearest challengers Lens 2-0 away in their penultimate match of the league season on Wednesday.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored after 29 minutes, and substitute Ibrahim Mbaye added a stoppage-time strike to see PSG advance to 76 points, out of the reach of Lens, who are assured of second place on 67 points.
The championship is PSG’s 14th Ligue 1 title and strengthens their status as the most successful club in French league history.
The Parisians, who will play in the Champions League final later this month, were all but assured of the title going into the fixture with a six-point lead over Lens and a vastly superior goal difference, but needed one more point to make sure.
But they needed a series of dramatic saves from goalkeeper Matvey Safonov to ensure victory as their hosts had several good opportunities to win the game in an electric atmosphere at Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
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Lens had a 20th-minute header from Adrien Thomasson cleared off the PSG line by Illia Zabarnyi, but nine minutes later, Ousmane Dembele stole the ball from Lens defender Malang Sarr and put a quick pass through for Kvaratskhelia to hammer home from point-blank range.
After that, the best opportunities fell for Lens, but Safonov made a series of sharp stops to deny both Wesley Said and Abdallah Sima, who then struck the post in the 73rd minute to add to the home frustrations.
Teenager Mbaye hit an impressive strike on the counterattack to score PSG’s second goal at the end of the game and give more gloss to the scoreline.
PSG had travelled with a severely depleted squad. Lucas Chevalier, Achraf Hakimi, Lee Kang-in, Nuno Mendes, Willian Pacho and Warren Zaire-Emery were all unavailable through injury.
PSG finish their season with a derby away against Paris FC on Sunday and then defend their Champions League crown against Arsenal in Budapest on May 30.
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Lens, whose coach Pierre Sage was voted Coach of the Year by his peers this week, complete their league campaign away at fourth-placed Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday and then play Nice in the French Cup final at the Stade de France in Paris on May 22. Lens will compete in next season’s Champions League.
Lionel Messi will play his last game for Paris St Germain against Clermont on Saturday, coach Christophe Galtier said on Thursday as he called on fans to give the Argentine forward a warm send-off at the Parc des Princes.
Messi, who has 21 goals and 20 assists for PSG in all competitions this season, moved to the French capital from Barcelona in 2021 on a two-year contract.
The 35-year-old, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in Qatar and also boasts a record seven Ballon d’Or awards, won the Ligue 1 title in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons with PSG as well as the French Super Cup in July 2022.
“I had the privilege of coaching the best player in the history of football. This will be his last match at the Parc des Princes, and I hope that he will receive the warmest of welcomes,” Galtier told reporters on Thursday.
Last month, French media reported that Messi was suspended for two weeks after an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia when he was supposed to train with his team following their 3-1 defeat at home to Lorient in the league.
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“This year, he has been an important part of the team, always available. I don’t think any of the comments or criticisms are justified,” Galtier said.
“He’s always been there for the team. It’s been a great privilege to accompany him throughout the season.”
Messi’s future at PSG had been the subject of much speculation recently, with a source close to the Argentina captain telling Reuters that he had received a formal offer to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal next season.
He has also been linked in the media with a move back to boyhood club Barcelona, with the United States’ Major League Soccer club Inter Miami also being touted as a possible destination.
PSG’S TITLE CELEBRATIONS ON HOLD
Messi’s last game for PSG is unlikely to be a joyous affair, with Galtier saying that their title celebrations would be put on ice with the distraught squad’s thoughts occupied with concern for goalkeeper Sergio Rico.
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Rico was involved in a riding accident while participating in an annual pilgrimage in southern Spain, the day after PSG wrapped up the title with one game to spare after a 1-1 draw at Racing Strasbourg.
Rico has been in intensive care after suffering “a serious mishap due to a mule cart and a horse that hit him”, his family said in a statement late on Sunday. Spanish paper Marca reported that Rico had been riding a horse himself.
“There will be no celebrations, it’s been a very difficult week. We’re all affected because we went from winning the French title on Saturday to waking up in more than a little pain on Sunday morning,” Galtier told reporters ahead of PSG’s final league game of the season.
“We’re all affected, and we’re trying as best we can to take our minds off things through the training sessions… We’re very united in sending out lots of positive vibes and energy to Sergio, his mum, his wife and his loved ones.”
Messi walks out on PSG fans after defeat Kunle Solaja
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Paris St Germain were lucky enough to enjoy the continued support of their fans during their 2-0 home defeat against Stade Rennais on Sunday – their first at home in Ligue 1 this season, but only a few players went to the Auteuil kop to greet them after a dismal display.
Kylian Mbappe was one of them after the France forward was denied twice by Rennes keeper Steve Mandanda, but Lionel Messi, who looked nothing like the player who inspired Argentina to the World Cup title last December, walked straight to the dressing room, as did the disappointing Marco Verratti.
PSG lead the standings on 66 points from 28 games with a seven-point advantage over Olympique de Marseille, who ended Stade de Reims’s 19-game unbeaten streak in the league with a 2-1 away win courtesy of an Alexis Sanchez double.
