October 13 – French super star Kylian Mbappé wants to leave Paris St. Germain in January despite having signed a new three-year deal last May, according to multiple reports.
Mbappé, who has scored 12 goals in all competitions for PSG this season, is understood to want to go to Real Madrid though Liverpool are widely anticipated to be an alternative possible destination.
PSG’s sporting director Luis Campos insists the 23-year-old has “never talked about leaving” the club. But a series of reports published in France by a spate of media organisations said Mbappe, who topped the Forbes list for highest-earning footballers, was frustrated at playing out of position.
Recently, he suggested that he would rather play alongside another striker – like he does with the France national team.
PSG have dominated the French league since cash-rich Qatari investors took over in 2011 but have failed to replicate that success on the European stage despite spending eye-watering amounts on star players.
Club officials had hoped Mbappé’s decision not to go to Real in May and instead sign a new deal would finally lead to landing the Champions League.
Speaking before PSG’s Champions League clash with Benfica, Campos played down suggestions Mbappé is unsettled in Paris.
“I am with Kylian Mbappé every day,” he told French TV station Canal Plus. “He has never talked to me about leaving in January.
“It’s not a statement from the player, it’s [from the press], and to have such information before a match like this is very serious. That’s why I’m here, to deny and say clearly that Kylian Mbappé has never spoken to me or to the president [Nasser Al-Khelaifi] to leave PSG in January.”
Campos added to RMC Sport: “Kylian is an extraordinary professional. For example, he played sick in the last match in Reims, he made the effort for the team. I see Kylian arriving with his team-mates, happy every day and with a huge desire to work.”
If Mbappé was to exit his current valuation, according to Football Benchmark, is more than €200 million.
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