PSG reportedly believe that Kylian Mbappe has agreed to link up with Real Madrid on a free transfer next summer.
The French giants warned Mbappe that he has two weeks to decide his future amidst rising tensions.
Mbappe has already told his hometown club that he will not extend his current contract via a letter, and with only a year left on his deal, PSG face having to sell him this summer to avoid losing him on a free.
But this development complicates factors.
If it is true that Mbappe and Los Blancos have privately agreed on him joining them for free next summer, then it would make shifting him for money this summer more painful – something PSG will want to do if he won’t sign an extension.
It was already common knowledge that Carlo Ancelotti’s side were leading the race for the 24-year-old, and in their financial interests him joining on a free would suit them fine, but this belief in their agreement is an extra headache for PSG.
From PSG’s perspective, if they cannot persuade their captain to at least agree to the contract extension clause until 2025, they would try to shift him on to the highest bidder this summer and hope to gain around £150million from his sale.
PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifa said it would be ‘impossible’ for him to leave for free at the unveiling of new manager Luis Enrique.
He said: ‘We want him to stay but he can’t leave for free. There was a verbal agreement and he had discussed it in an interview. And I was really shocked to learn that he had decided to leave for free.
‘It’s very disappointing because Mbappe is a fantastic boy, a real gentleman and to leave for free, weakening the biggest club in France, it’s not him. When I heard the news, I was shocked and disappointed.
‘It’s for him to decide for himself next week, or at most in the next two weeks. And if he does not want to sign a new contract, the door is open.
‘It’s like that for him and everyone else. Nobody is bigger than the club, no player, not even me. It’s very clear.’
It has been said that PSG are blaming Karim Benzema’s move to Al-Ittihad as a reason for Mbappe being unwilling to come to the table, as Real Madrid are agitated to bring in a replacement. Benzema’s departure, which was expected for 2024, has essentially moved things forward a year.
Reportedly, Mbappe may have been willing to sign a contract extension with a view to signing for big money next summer had Benzema stayed.