2024-01-01T09:14:13+00:00
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/ Starting today, Monday, the captain of the French national football team, Kylian Mbappe, has become a free player who has the option of signing with any club other than his team, Paris Saint-Germain, to carry its colors starting in the summer of 2024, in a new series rich in speculation. Will the French star move? To his favorite club, Real Madrid?
Things were clear last summer in the mind of the speedy striker, when he sent a letter to his club indicating his desire not to extend his contract, which expires in June 2024, and things became tense between them.
But the tension diminished and calm returned to prevail after a dispute between Mbappe and his club, which was angry at its inability to sell the player’s contract estimated at 180 million euros, according to the “Transfermarkt” website, which prompted him to temporarily remove him from the squad.
Since that time, the relationship between the 2022 World Cup top scorer and the president of his Qatari club, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, has become solid and established, according to reports about the capital team.
According to multiple media outlets, the player has given up part of the massive “loyalty” rewards.
In response to a question from Agence France-Presse, those close to the player refused to comment on Mbappe’s future in the coming months. The club has not made any official announcement in this regard for a long time.
Smiling or frowning?
Mbappe (25 years old) has tightened his technical grip on the team, scoring 16 goals in various competitions since the beginning of the season, a significant difference from his closest attacking colleagues.
But the club’s administrators overcame the stage of panic that struck them last summer, and took time to think about the team’s fate without player No. 7, stressing that they should not rely on a single player. They do not plan to bid on a huge annual salary of 72 million euros, according to the French newspaper Le Parisien, without counting the signing bonus.
They point out that separation frees up investment horizons. However, keeping the superstar, after the departure of Argentine Lionel Messi to the American League and Brazilian Neymar to Saudi Arabia, remains the best option.
To convince Mbappe, Saint-Germain is counting on a new project that began this summer, which is based on reducing contracts with resonant names in favor of building a team based on team play. Coach Luis Enrique embodies this project, even if his touches have not yet appeared on the green rectangle. But the methods and mentality have changed and may convince Mbappe to stay.
According to Agence France-Presse, the son of the Parisian suburb of Bondy is “concerned” about his athletic development beyond statistics.
Saint-Germain will welcome the return of the young Portuguese left-back, Nuno Mendes, who was an excellent passer until his injury last spring.
The arrival of his teammates in the national team, Randall Kolo Mwani and Ousmane Dembélé, contributed to bringing a smile to the team and to Mbappe’s face, according to what a source inside the Qatari-owned club believes. But in terms of behavior, the striker was in a moody mood: he was scowling in the matches between Dortmund (1-1) and Lille (1-1), and smiling against Metz (3-1).
At the slightest sign of annoyance on his face, speculation rages: Is his mind going elsewhere? Other sporting aspects can be taken into account. After struggling in the group stage of the Champions League to the point of elimination, he reached the round of 16, where an easy confrontation awaits him with Spanish Real Sociedad, after two eliminations from this round.
Real finds its goal
The international star is missing the Champions League title, after bolstering his resume with the 2018 World Cup title, while his competitor for the Golden Ball award, Norwegian Erling Haaland, won the title in his first season with Manchester City in England in 2023.
Eric Rapisandratana, former Saint-Germain defender and current analyst on France Bleu Paris radio, explained: “I know that he has the desire to win the Champions League quickly, but he also wants to win it with Saint-Germain.” To seduce him, the Spanish Real Madrid, his favorite club and potential destination for several years, or the English Liverpool, could use their rich record on the continental level.
Spanish newspapers, such as “AS” and “Marca”, are launching continuous campaigns to support the inclusion of the striker, while “The Athletic” website stated that the royal team asked it to make a decision “by mid-January.”
At the same time, Real found a new star, after signing young English playmaker Jude Bellingham, who has been shining brilliantly since the beginning of the season, with 17 goals and 5 assists, and attracting the spotlight in the Spanish capital.