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PSG should not stand in the way of Kylian Mbappe’s Real Madrid dream.
If Kylian Mbappe wants to leave Paris Saint-Germain, let him.
Admittedly, many execs at the club might turn their noses up at that suggestion due to the heavy blow it represents.
Real Madrid and PSG have intermittently locked horns over Mbappe
The Parisians and Real Madrid have battled for one of the sport’s best players for several years. PSG rejected a big-money €160 million bid from Los Blancos for Mbappe in 2021 and got him to sign a renewal last year when many expected him to join the LaLiga giants.
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The shirt Mbappe held up at the announcement of that extension showed 2025, but the finer details of that renewal have revealed that the 2018 World Cup winner could leave for free in the summer of 2024.
Depending on whom you believe, the Frenchman was effectively granted a seat at the decision-making table, and the recruitment of Luis Campos as Football Advisor was reportedly further reflective of Mbappe’s fingerprints on the direction of travel in Paris.
But PSG cannot keep bending over backwards for their superstar. They have been giving ground for years on end, ergo consolidating the star’s power at the club.
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The Parisians have granted concessions to Mbappe, but maybe it is time to put paid to the chaos it has caused.
If they intended to prove they would not cower to the Madrid giants, who seldom fail to land a target, rejecting the 14-time European champions’ bid in 2021 and getting Mbappe to agree to last year’s extension have demonstrated the Parisians’ firmness.
Why PSG should let Mbappe go
When it emerged on June 12 that the 2018 World Cup winner would not stay in Paris beyond 2024, the forward’s future was awash with speculation.
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14:09 - 07.07.2023
FOOTBALL PSG give Kyllian Mbappe deadline to make decision on his future
The French champions are determined not to allow the forward depart for free
It was not lost on anyone that this emerged eight days after Real confirmed Karim Benzema was leaving the club after 14 years and six after Mbappe’s ex-international teammate was announced as an Al-Ittihad player.
Real’s change in transfer strategy meant Jude Bellingham’s €103 million arrival should have been the club’s marquee signing this summer, with Benzema’s replacement not acquired until the Frenchman’s departure in 2024.
However, the 35-year-old’s decision to leave the Santiago Bernabeu a year early has thrown a spanner in the works to Los Blancos’ plan.
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PSG may be inclined to resist Real Madrid’s advances this summer, although the Spanish giants have ostensibly not matched the level of investment in Mbappe from previous years. But there’s logic in letting their superstar leave this summer.
The Les Blues captain is single-minded and resolute, thus underscoring the feeling that a renewal to current terms in Paris is unlikely. Theoretically, getting a fee for the club’s all-time top scorer is preferable to losing him for nothing in 12 months, a situation that would jar the club that dismissed overtures from the LaLiga giants in 2021.
With PSG’s rebuilding in the last two years geared towards a deviation from a keenness on marquee players, the Parisians could reinvest funds from any Mbappe sale into establishing a balanced side.
19:30 - 08.07.2023
FOOTBALL Angry PSG players contact club to complain about Mbappe’s behaviour after he termed French champions ‘divisive’
The six players were not impressed by the star forward’s recent interview when he slammed the Ligue 1 giants
Previous head coaches at the club always faced tactical bugbears due to the presence of top talent dis-inclined to do the necessary grunt work, a challenge exacerbated by Lionel Messi’s arrival from Barcelona in 2021.
The Argentina superstar, Mbappe and Neymar looked an exciting prospect on paper, but the three’s unwillingness to put in the hard yards defensively became problematic for PSG, especially in Europe, where teams took advantage of the Ligue 1 side’s imbalance.
Luis Enrique is the latest manager brought in to lead the club to European success, an eventuality that is far from guaranteed with Mbappe.
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Of course, selling the France captain does not guarantee Champions League success, but trying something new without the 2018 World Cup winner should be welcomed, not dreaded.
Mbappe and PSG may have reached the end of the line in their relationship, to the distress of the club’s fans, but maybe that is needed for the Parisians’ evolution.
No player is greater than the club. Not even Mbappe. If the France captain demands a transfer this summer, PSG should not stand in his way.
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11:07 - 12.07.2023
Revealed! PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe to cost Real Madrid €550m this summer
Real Madrid would need to shatter the world transfer record by some distance in order to sign Kylian Mbappe this summer.
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