2023-07-24 17:23:26
Kylian Mbappé or PSG, who will be the best in the game of liar poker launched between the two parties? In a cold war between the star and his club, Real Madrid, Saudi Arabia and the union of professional football players get involved. Enough to animate the Parisian summer, probably until the dead end that awaits next September.
Published on: 07/24/2023 – 17:23
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PSG, Kylian Mbappé, Real Madrid, a contract that ends next year, the national union of professional footballers (UNFP, the union of French footballers), these are the ingredients for an unstable cocktail on the side of the capital. All that was missing was a colossal offer from Saudi Arabia, which PSG has been ready to consider since Monday, July 24, to make it explosive.
Wishing to bang his fist on the table, to strengthen the authority of the Paris Saint-Germain institution so often challenged by the players who compose it, Nasser al-Khelaïfi struck hard… but perhaps a sword stroke in the water. In early July, the president of PSG, faced with Mbappé’s stated desire to leave Paris at the end of his contract in the summer of 2024, had been clear: ” If Kylian Mbappé wants to stay [pour la saison 2023/2024, NDLR], he has to sign a new contract “. Understand that it is out of the question to let the captain of the France team sign for another club freely, without transfer compensation, in a year.
Read alsoFoot: If Mbappé “wants to stay, you have to sign a new contract”, says the president of PSG
Mbappé on the sidelines, no annoyance displayed
To begin with, an ultimatum: the player has until the end of July to make his decision and make it clear to his leaders. Thus, in the event of departure, internally PSG has time to see what is coming before the end of the transfer window, on September 1, to find a lucrative base. But obviously, the situation has not progressed fast enough for al-Khelaïfi’s taste. Friday, the news fell, like a cleaver, even a point of no return.
Mbappé will not be part of the preparation camp and the friendly match tour in Asia with the rest of the squad. Instead, he trains in the brand new center, freshly built in Poissy in the Yvelines, with the other members of the “loft”. The small nickname given to the group of undesirable players on whom PSG no longer counts sportingly (Georginio Wijnaldum, Abdou Diallo, Julian Draxler…).
Serene, Mbappé showed up all smiles at training, cap in club colors screwed on his head, taking a few minutes for selfies with young fans begging him to stay in Paris. The attitude of a man in a position of strength and aware of it. Since the 2018 world champion knows this, the club cannot force him out and certainly cannot afford to keep him in the squad without playing him once the transfer window ends.
Read alsoPSG dismisses Kylian Mbappé from his Asia tour to put pressure on the star
The players’ union gets involved, Saudi Arabia too?
Firstly because a player paid around six million euros gross per month according to L’Équipe, with the marketing potential large enough to fill a stadium, sell shirts… and at the sporting level sufficient to win trophies, no club in the world goes without a whole season. Also, because this Sunday, the UNFP came forward and wished, in a press release, ” remind managers that exerting pressure on an employee – via the deterioration of his working conditions, for example – to force him to leave or accept what the employer wants constitutes moral harassment ».
Last chance for PSG to put pressure on the transfer market and force the hand of potential suitors to make an offer: play smarter. AFP and the team assured this Sunday that PSG received a colossal transfer offer, 300 million euros, from the Al-Hilal club for its star striker. And that the champions of France agree to open discussions between the player and the Saudi club.
A highly unlikely transfer given Mbappé’s propensity to want to mark the history of his sport. And also to join Real Madrid, which has been tracking him for years and which he already dreamed of as a kid. The fact remains that, still according to AFP, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Inter Milan and FC Barcelona have also put themselves in working order on the file. A very long game of liar poker, which could stretch until early September, is underway.
Kylian Mbappé on the island of Djébalè, in his father’s village
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