Kylian Mbappe has informed Paris Saint-Germain that he will no longer play for the club at the end of the season, according to The Athletic and David Ornstein. The French striker has been extensively linked with a move to Real Madrid, and his contract is set to expire this summer.
Mbappe was earlier said to have chosen to join Madrid in the summer. Los Blancos have been pursuing the 25-year-old for years, and were close to acquiring him in 2021 before Mbappe signed a contract extension with PSG.
However, it appears like the La Liga side will have the opportunity to bring in Mbappe as a free agent, since PSG’s star player has reportedly informed the club that he plans to quit in the summer of 2024. According to The Athletic, details for his departure have not to be fully agreed upon, and an official announcement will be made after they are finished in the coming months.
🚨 BREAKING: Kylian Mbappe has communicated decision to leave PSG this summer. Terms yet to be fully agreed. #PSG + 25yo will communicate when finalised in coming months. Will save club €200m per year & they will focus on youth / collective @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/eCsQoaKeXL
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) February 15, 2024
PSG is expected to save roughly €200 million per year once Mbappe leaves, as they will finally be able to offload his hefty contract. He is one of the highest-paid players in European football, and his sale opens up an enormous number of options.
According to The Athletic, PSG is shifting its focus to developing young players and strengthening the team as a whole, moving away from the ‘Galacticos’ era when Mbappe played alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar. Messi and Neymar departed Paris in 2023, and Mbappe’s exit this summer signals the conclusion of that era.
The club is likely to replace him with younger, skilled players who lack star power. Randal Kolo Muani, Manuel Ugarte, and Ousmane Dembele joined the club in the summer of 2023, and a similar pattern is expected to repeat again in 2024. According to Jason Burt of The Telegraph, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen could be an appropriate replacement for Mbappe.
As previously stated, Real Madrid appears to be Mbappe’s preferred destination. So far, however, negotiations for a settlement have not gone smoothly.
In January, reports surfaced that Mbappe was considering a move to the Premier League after being disappointed by Real Madrid’s attempts to acquire him. There were even reports that PSG had offered Mbappe a ‘never-seen-before’ contract in an attempt to keep him at the club.
However, Fabrizio Romano has since revealed that Madrid and club president Florentino Perez are still working on the deal, with ‘absolute confidence’ that they will complete it.
If Mbappe joins Real Madrid, he will join a team that already includes players like Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr., and many others. His signing would make them favourites for both domestic and European honours from the start of the season, with few defences in the world capable of stopping an attack as powerful as Madrid’s hypothetical frontline.