Kylian Mbappe, the star striker for the French champions Paris Saint-Germain, was not included in the group that traveled to Japan for a pre-season tour on Friday.
This decision casts more question on the future of the star striker.
PSG did not provide any explanation for the decision to leave France’s captain off the roster.
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Mbappe’s younger brother, 16-year-old Ethan Mbappe, and the club’s last surviving superstar, Neymar, will both be part of the 29-player team that will fly east on Saturday.
Mbappe has been taking part in the club’s preseason preparations and scored a goal for PSG in a training-ground friendly against Le Havre that was played on Friday. Mbappe played the last 30 minutes of PSG’s match against Le Havre.
Mbappe said in May that he would not be extending his contract with PSG, which is set to expire the following year. However, he hinted that he intended to stay at the club for a last season.
“I still have a year left on my contract, and I am going to honor my contract,” he stated. “I am going to honor my contract.”
This would make it possible for him to depart PSG without owing them any compensation and become a free agent during the summer of 2019.
In response, the president of PSG, Nasser al-Khelaifi, said earlier in this month that Mbappe “must sign a new contract.”
We are unable to afford to lose the player who is now regarded as the finest in the world. Khelaifi said that this was not conceivable.
Even though there has been no confirmation from PSG, some local media reports suggest that the French club has put the 24-year-old forward on the market for sale during the current transfer window. PSG is confident that Mbappe has already agreed to a deal to join European giants Real Madrid for free next summer.
According to a report from ESPN, Paris Saint-Germain are weighing their options over the future of their star striker.
ESPN has been informed by sources that Mbappé, who was informed of the transfer on Friday following their victory against Le Havre, was taken aback by the news but has decided to accept it.
According to an article published by ESPN, Al-Khelaifi warned the team on Tuesday that “Players who don’t want to be here, the door is open,” but he did not name the French phenom who was there in the room at the time.
Mbappé, on the other hand, is not going to reconsider his decision and sign a new contract. This week, he reiterated that attitude to the club, which further infuriated Al-Khelaifi and the Qatari owners and most certainly contributed to the decision to omit him from the touring team.
The team is now being led by new administration, and Luis Enrique has been hired as the head coach.
On July 25, they will begin their tour of Asia in Osaka against Cristiano Ronaldo’s team, Al Nasr, which is based in Saudi Arabia. After that, Paris Saint-Germain will compete against Cerezo Osaka in the same city, as well as Inter Milan in Tokyo, before concluding the trip on August 3 against Jeonbuk Motors in Busan, South Korea.
Mbappe made his move to Paris Saint-Germain from Monaco in August 2017 in a transaction of 180 million euros ($196 million), and since then, he has established himself as one of the most important players in the world.