After Kylian Mbappe informed Paris St. Germain that he will not be renewing his contract, the French club is willing to sell him this summer rather than take the chance of losing him for free in a year.
With a year extension option, the France forward’s current contract expires at the conclusion of the upcoming campaign.
Mbappe, 24, had until July 31 to inform PSG if he intended to extend his contract until 2025.
He has given the club a letter stating he will not after months of discussions.
The measure could be a negotiating tactic since PSG’s all-time leading scorer would be free to leave at the end of the upcoming season.
However, PSG have vowed not to allow Mbappe leave for free, and the club is displeased that the letter was leaked in the public before they sa it. This is because the French champions are trying to recalibrate their team-building philosophy after years of acquiring great players without any apparent clear strategy.
This indicates that they will sell the World Cup winner of 2018 unless they receive guarantees about his future plans, which would alarm the top clubs in Europe.
The Frenchman has long been a favorite of Real Madrid, but he chose to stay at PSG instead of moving to the Bernabeu.
The exit of Karim Benzema to Saudi Arabia means Real need a striker, although it had been thought Tottenham’s Harry Kane was at the top of their list.
Mbappe, who joined PSG in 2017 initially on loan from Monaco before a 180m euros move, has scored 212 goals in 260 games.
He has 38 goals in 68 games for France, including a hat-trick in last year’s final in Qatar, as France lost to Argentina on penalties.
Mbappe finished as Ligue 1’s top scorer in each of the last five seasons and has won five league titles in his six seasons at PSG.
PSG ended 2022-23 with just the Ligue 1 title after once again failing to win the Champions League, losing to Bayern Munich in the last-16.
Mbappe would be the second high-profile forward to leave the Parc des Princes this summer, after Argentina forward Lionel Messi left at the end of his two-year contract to join Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami.
Neymar, the third member of PSG’s superstar frontline last season, has been linked with a big-money move to Saudi Arabia.
