Kylian Mbappe has signed a new contract with Paris Saint-Germain but the long-running transfer saga took a fresh twist on Saturday night as La Liga threatened legal action after Real Madrid’s pursuit of the forward ended in failure.
Mbappe was presented to the PSG fans at the Parc des Princes ahead of their final game of the season against Metz as his three-year contract was confirmed, but it came as the Spanish league said they would file a complaint with Uefa.
Real Madrid, the 13-time European champions, have been trying to sign Mbappe for over a year and PSG last summer turned down a bid that was reportedly worth €200m, despite the 23-year-old only having one year remaining on his contract.
In turning down fresh offers to join Real Madrid as a free agent, Mbappe has reportedly signed a deal with PSG that will make the France international the highest-paid player in world football.
In a statement, La Liga called Mbappe’s decision to remain at PSG “scandalous” and an “attack on the economic stability of European football” that was as threatening to the game as the failed European Super League plans.
The Spanish league’s statement read: “LaLiga will file a complaint against PSG before Uefa, the French administrative and fiscal authorities and European Union authorities to continue to defend the economic ecosystem of European football and its sustainability.
“In the past LaLiga has complained to Uefa for non-compliance with financial fair play by PSG. These complaints were successful and Uefa sanctioned the club, while the Court of Artbitration for Sport (CAS), in a bizarre decision, reversed the sanctions.
“LaLiga and many European football institutions had hope that PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi after entering bodies of European football management such as the Uefa Executive Committee and the presidency of the European Club Association (ECA) would abstain from these practices knowing they cause grave damage, but the opposite has been true. PSG is assuming an impossible investment, seeing that it has an unacceptable wage bill and large financial losses in prior seasons. It is violating current Uefa and French economic control rules.
“This behaviour demonstrates once more that state owned clubs do not respect and do not want to respect the rules of a sector as important as football. These rules are key to protect and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs.
“This kind of behaviour led by Al-Khelaifi, president of PSG, and member of the Uefa Executive Committee and president of ECA, endangers European football on the same level as the European Super League.”
Reports of Mbappe deciding to reject Real Madrid and stay at PSG gathered pace earlier on Saturday after months of speculation surrounding his future. It drew anger from the president of La Liga, Javier Tebas, who said it was “dangerous”.
“What PSG are doing by renewing Mbappé with large sum after posting losses of €700M in recent seasons and having more than €600M of salary bill, is an insult to football,” he said on Twitter.
Mbappe will stay at the French champions, whose wealth comes from the club’s Qatar sovereign wealth fund ownership, and try to help the club win the Champions League for the first time.
“I would like to announce that I have chosen to extend my contract at Paris Saint-Germain, and of course I am delighted,” Mbappe said upon announcing his decision.
“I am convinced that here I can continue to grow at a club that provides everything necessary to perform at the highest level. I am also delighted to continue to play in France, the country where I was born, where I have grown up and where I have made my name.
“I would like to thank the president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, for his trust, his understanding and his patience. I would also like to thank all the fans of Paris Saint-Germain, both in France and around the world, for their support, especially in recent months. Together, side by side and ambitious, we will make magic in Paris.”
The Parc des Princes was in celebratory mood and Mbappe went on to score a hat-trick as PSG thrashed Metz 5-0. He is PSG’s second-highest scorer with 171 goals and could surpass Edinson Cavani’s record of 200 next season.
