French football star Kylian Mbappe has officially informed Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) he will leave the Ligue 1 champions when his contract expires in 2014, Africa Today News, New York can confirm.
The PSG hierarchy was reportedly left in disbelief by Mbappe’s decision to decline the 12-month contract extension he offered in a formal letter. This comes just days after Lionel Messi announced his departure from PSG to Major League Soccer (MLS) team Inter Miami in the United States.
According to press reports, PSG will now have to decide whether to sell the 24-year-old attacker, who scored a hat-trick for France in its loss to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final, or let him leave the club for free when his current contract expires in June 2024.
Reports in France had suggested PSG was hopeful for an extension to Mbappe’s contract.
Mbappe was in a similar situation last year when he was linked with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid, only to sign a contract extension with PSG.
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Real Madrid could now step up their interest in Mbappe as they look to bolster the forward line after veteran Karim Benzema’s move to Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia.
There is also uncertainty about the future of another PSG star: Brazil’s Neymar.
But the apparent departure of Mbappe would be the greatest loss to PSG, given he is a national icon in France and widely considered one of the few players capable of taking over from Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as football’s biggest star.
Mbappe hoped to help PSG win its first Champions League title but the team suffered another disappointment in European football’s top competition, which Manchester City went on to win by beating Inter Milan 1-0 in the final on Saturday.
Mbappe has won five French league titles with PSG and was a World Cup winner with France in 2018.