Kylian Mbappe has told Paris Saint-Germain that he would not be taking up an option to extend his contract until 2025.
The France striker, who is 24, has a contract that runs out at the end of next season, but there is an option for another year.
If he doesn’t sign, the French champions could lose him for free in a year, so they could sell him this summer instead of missing out on a big payday for one of the best players in the world.
Mbappe’s decision not to renew, which he told the club in a letter and was reported by the French sports newspaper L’Equipe, is another blow to PSG after Messi left for Inter Miami.
The deadline for Mbappe to decide was July 31, 2023.
A little over a year ago, Mbappe turned down Real Madrid by signing a surprise contract extension to stay at Parc des Princes.
Real would again be the most interested in him.
When asked late Monday night, Mbappe’s group did not answer right away.
If the striker left PSG for free when his current contract ends in the summer of 2024, it would be a disaster for the team.
In addition to the hole in the team, the club would also lose the millions of euros that would come from a transfer.
Neymar, another star striker from Brazil, is under contract until 2025, but it’s not clear what will happen to him before what looks like it will be a turbulent summer in Paris.
Mbappe moved from Monaco to PSG in August 2017 on a season-long loan that turned into a permanent deal worth €180 million ($194 million).
In 2018, as a teenager, he helped France win the World Cup. Since then, he has become arguably the best forward in the world.
Mbappe also scored a hat-trick when Messi’s Argentina beat France in the 2022 World Cup final, and he helped Paris Saint-Germain win a record 11th French title.
But Mbappe gave a hint about leaving in 2024 last month.
“I said that next year I will play at PSG. I still have a year of contract so I will honour my contract,” he said when asked about his future at an awards ceremony where he was voted the Ligue 1 player of the season for the fourth successive time.
On Monday, the striker looked calm at Clairefontaine, where France is getting ready for their next Euro qualifying games.
He trained in the afternoon and signed dozens of autographs for fans while smiling and joking with his coach Didier Deschamps and fellow attacker Antoine Griezmann.
The news that Mbappe wants to play for PSG is yet another problem for the Qatari owners of the club, who already had a rough season on and off the pitch, even though they won the French title.
The club is looking for a new coach to replace Christophe Galtier after another loss in the Champions League.
People thought the season was a disappointment because PSG lost in the last 16 of both the Champions League and the French Cup to Bayern Munich.
Since Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona for a world-record fee of 222 million euros in 2017, his health has been a constant worry for the club.
In 173 games for PSG, he has scored 118 goals, but he has missed more than 100 games because of injury or suspension.
Photo by EPA/FRANCK FIFE / POOL MAXPPP
