Kylian Mbappe says he will remain at Paris Saint-Germain for another season before making a decision regarding his long-term future in the summer of 2024.
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“I have already said that I will stay. I have already said that long before all this happened,” he said this week in an interview while on international duty with France. “There are a lot of things that happen in a year, even more so at a club like Paris Saint-Germain.”
Multiple reports, including this one from our partners in the UK at Sky Sports, said that Mbappe told PSG he would not extend his contract, which expires at the end of next season. Mbappe was said to have sent a letter to the club reaffirming his intent to not sign a new deal, while a New York Times report says that PSG was surprised and felt they were making progress on a new deal.
No contract extension would leave him open to signing with another club as soon as January 1, 2024, and he’s been widely tipped to join Real Madrid for about as long as he’s been on the main stage.
And if the letter was leaked to the media before it was received by PSG, well, that sure does seem like a man ready to go now.
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PSG might be mega rich but there’s a big difference between letting one of the very biggest assets in the world leave for free and getting around $150-200 million for his services.
Mbappe, 24, seemingly wanted out on several occasions but it’s always seemed possible he might stay home in France and keep playing for PSG even into the 2024-25 season.
The player and his club want to win the UEFA Champions League and the Les Parisiens would seem a great distance from that should Mbappe join Lionel Messi in leaving the side. Oft-injured megastar Neymar is now 31 and has a contract through 2024-25.
Mbappe surely would love to get the extra dolllars (or Euros, or pounds) that come from leaving on a free transfer and he can still lead the Ligue 1 favorites’ Champions League campaign.
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Where could Kylian Mbappe go next?
Only a few teams could realistically afford to pay Mbappe, and even Bayern Munich’s already ruled itself out of the transfer process due to the expected massive fee.
Real Madrid: The original report says that Real Madrid would happily pay to bring Mbappe to Spain this summer to help replace Karim Benzema. That follows a narrative to stretches back to Mbappe’s days at AS Monaco.
Manchester United: It’s funny because Neymar seemed the sexy move for Man Utd a few years back and you wonder how any number of the club’s previous regimes would’ve fared with the electric playmaker. United’s paid plenty of money for forwards and Bruno Fernandes would love to feed Mbappe and Marcus Rashford while reaping the space left over on the pitch.
Chelsea: They might pay for the forward, but Mbappe choosing a season without European football seems silly.
Manchester City: Imagine Mbappe out wide with Erling Haaland in the middle! Still, it doesn’t seem like attackers are a priority for Pep Guardiola after splashing big money to bring Haaland and Jack Grealish to town. Plus it seems Guardiola will be looking to center back and midfield first.
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Kylian Mbappe says he will remain at PSG for 2023-24 season originally appeared on NBCSports.com
