Here we go again.
The transfer saga of this upcoming summer window will once again focus on the future of Kylian Mbappe.
The French forward made headlines when it was reported he had sent a letter informing Paris Saint-Germain he was not going to sign an extension past 2024, which is when his current deal expires.
Breaking | Kylian Mbappé sent a formal letter to PSG today telling them that he will not, under any circumstances, be activating the option in his contract for a further year until 2025 - it is now possible that PSG may seek to sell the player this summer. More follows. (L'Éq)
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) June 12, 2023
The letter reportedly took PSG by surprise as they saw it as unnecessary. Regardless, the Ligue 1 champions are likely to listen to offers as they are not going to want to risk losing Mbappe on a free in two years.
According to the New York Times’ Tariq Panja, PSG are expected to demand a transfer fee in excess of $200 million.
As for which teams can pay what PSG would ask for, there are only a handful of them in the world.
The Premier League has said handful with The Guardian reporting the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea would be interested.
Each club has its pros and cons with the biggest cons for Liverpool and Chelsea being they are not playing in the Champions League next season. Not to mention Chelsea have handed out contracts left and right and will be focused on cutting their already bloated squad. That leaves Manchester United but they look to be preoccupied with their sale at the moment.
Then there is also Real Madrid.
The Spanish giants believed they had Mbappe signed a season ago only for the Frenchman to sign a new deal with PSG. Having already spent more than €100 million for Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham, it will be interesting to see whether or not Florentino Perez will want to spend likely close than double that for Mbappe.
Then there is also the fan reception as the Madridistas weren’t too happy at being shunned the first time around. Though their less than warm feelings toward Mbappe can, and will change, should he join their club.
For PSG, this is another chapter in their story of a club trying to join the elite only to fall short time and time again. They’ve spent an exorbitant amount of money to try to win the Champions League and have been unsuccessful.
They signed Lionel Messi two seasons ago, partnering him with Mbappe and Neymar up top and even that wasn’t enough. The Argentinian is now gone and Mbappe looks to be following him out the door.
This saga has the potential to drag on given the significant transfer fee any team will need to pay out. This time, it does look like the point of no return for Mbappe. In the end, Neymar, the player PSG has long tried to get rid, is going to be the only one of the front three to don a PSG jersey next season.