As confirmed by L’Équipe, Kylian Mbappé can no longer trigger the one-year extension in his current PSG contract after the deadline passed overnight. Despite new attempts to convince the 24-year-old to stay, a transfer is now close to inevitable either this summer or next with competition still growing over the player’s signature.
The Ligue 1 champions’ latest (and perhaps last) offer proposed a set fee for which the player could leave next summer if he signed a new contract in Paris, but this was rejected by Mbappé. This hasn’t changed PSG’s belief that Real Madrid are planning a low-ball offer at the very end of the transfer window. With this in mind, talks are underway, via at least one intermediary, as PSG looks to negotiate that offer upward, but no direct contact has been established as yet.
In competition with Real are Chelsea and Barcelona. As reported by L’Équipe, the Spanish club reportedly offered up young Spanish midfielder Gavi in a swap deal, while PSG are expecting a concrete offer from the Londoners soon, but the shape of that offer is yet to become clear. Al-Hilal’s €300m offer remains on the table too. RMC, meanwhile, reported that Barcelona offered a trio of players: Gavi, Ousmane Dembélé and Raphinha. But PSG rejected the idea.
The player, meanwhile, who has been exiled from the club’s pre-season tour of Asia, is becoming increasingly frustrated despite a smiling exterior, says the sports daily and the fact that the passing of the extension deadline also earned the France captain a large ‘loyalty bonus’.
Adam White | GFFN
