Ever since Mbappé declared in May that he would not extend his PSG contract, which expires next year, tensions between the French football champion and his team have been mounting. And now they’ve reached a head, with club authorities threatening to bench him.
Paris St Germain on Friday dropped Mbappé from their pre-season squad tour in Japan, without giving any reason for their omission.
The 29-player squad that flies east on Saturday will include Mbappé's younger brother, 16-year-old Ethan Mbappé, as well as the club's remaining superstar Neymar.
But France’s captain, who has been taking part in the club’s pre-season preparations, has been cast aside.
“For the first time, PSG wants to be stronger than its omnipotent star player. They have created an inextricable situation,” French sports journalist Pierre Ammiche told RMC radio.
“Whatever happens, PSG are going to have to learn to do without Mbappé, at least on this tour,” he said.
PSG’s decision to drop Mbappé from the Japan tour is the latest controversy in what has been an extended period of conflict between the 24-year-old star player and his club.
Relations between PSG and Mbappé soured last month after the French forward said he would not renew his contract which expires at the end of next season, meaning he can leave for free in June 2024.
If he runs down his contract, PSG would be unable to recoup any of the 180 million euros ($197 million) they spent to sign him. PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi has said they will not let him go for free.
“We can't let the best player in the world today leave for free. It's impossible," Khelaifi said.
Khelaifi even gave Mbappé an ultimatum of a "maximum two weeks" to make his decision: sign a new contract or leave this summer. That date corresponds roughly with the departure of the team for Japan.
If Mbappé refuses to sign, the club must sell him in this transfer window, otherwise they will likely lose him for nothing when his deal ends after next season.
Nicole Kssis-Martov, a journalist for French sports magazine “So Foot”, says the conflict is “a huge misunderstanding, a mismanagement by PSG” since the renewal of Mbappé’s contract last year, when “we had the impression he would stay until 2025”.
According to him, the ongoing conflict is a “crisis situation” and a “communications operation by PSG to explain to supporters that everything is the player’s fault”.
'To bench him would be a very violent move'
The 24-year-old was expected to leave a year ago for Real Madrid when his previous contract came to an end, only to agree a new deal to remain in Paris.
That was a two-year contract with the option of a third season which would take him to 2025, which the player has said he would not take up, even if he has indicated his intention to see out his existing deal.
Having missed out on his signature a year ago, Real would again be chief among his suitors.
They are in the market for a new striker after reigning Ballon d'Or Karim Benzema ended his 14-year stay in the Spanish capital, opting to move to Saudi Arabia.
Kssis-Martov admits that it is a “win-win situation for Mbappé”. If he is transferred this summer, “he’ll go to a big club”, and if he renews his contract with PSG, “he has the keys to the game at PSG”.
“We’re talking about one of the best players in the world who is also the captain of the French national team. To bench him would be a very violent move, but normally it won’t come to that,” he said.
Daniel Riolo, a journalist and commentator on French radio RMC’s After Foot programme, called the conflict “a real arm wrestle”.
“Mbappé is ready to take on and stay at PSG even without playing. At the moment, those around him are ready to accept anything and sacrifice a season,” he said.
PSG have won nine of the last 11 Ligue 1 titles, but Mbappé's frustration lies with their performances in the Champions League – a trophy the Parisian club have never won despite all their investment in the squad.
PSG went out in the last 16 this year when they were beaten by Bayern Munich, failing to score in both legs. Mbappé was injured for the first leg and said they were "helpless" in the second.
Mbappé said he was the "most decisive player" in the group stage but could not explain what PSG were missing with the club hitting a "glass ceiling" in Europe.
"We did what we could, period. You have to talk to the people who make the team, who organise the squad, who build this club," he added.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AFP)
