Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino has insisted that Kylian Mbappe will not be sold this summer, even if he refuses to put pen to paper on a new contract.
The 22-year-old’s deal in the French capital expires at the end of the season, meaning he could walk away for free next summer. Real Madrid are interested in signing the French superstar, and may attempt to lure him to Spain at a cut-price in the current transfer window.
But Pochettino has reaffirmed the club’s stance that Mbappe will not leave this summer, and he will remain a PSG player for the rest of the season, even if he decides not to extend his deal beyond June 2022.
“Mbappé is working very well. I see him staying with us this season,” Pochettino said, as cited by Fabrizio Romano.
“There are many rumours but he’s calm. We want him to stay here. He has one more year on his contract with us. Even if he does not renew, he is still a PSG player.”
Mbappe’s head has certainly been turned this summer, and his refusal to commit his future to Paris suggests he is holding out for a move elsewhere.
90min recently revealed that Madrid are preparing to open talks with PSG over the possibility of a summer transfer, where they would make him the highest paid player in world football.
Those proposed negotiations have led to Mbappe’s reluctance to sign a new deal, causing great frustration among the PSG hierarchy. Club owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi has hit out at the Frenchman, claiming he has ‘no excuse’ not to extend his contract, after les Parisiens demonstrated their intentions by signing football icon Lionel Messi.
PSG hope that the prospect of playing alongside the Barcelona legend will be enough to keep Mbappe for the upcoming season, and may even convince him that the club’s ambitions match his own.
And the latest reports hint that the World Cup winner has indeed opted to stay put – for the time being at least – shelving any move away until the summer. Mbappe has begun the season like a man committed to the cause, starring in both of PSG’s victories in Ligue 1.