Will go, won’t go? While we thought we were heading towards a calm summer with regard to the future of Kylian Mbappé, everything changed on Monday. Admittedly, he claims loud and clear that he “did not ask to be sold or to go to Real Madrid”, but Bondy’s crack nevertheless decided not to activate his option for 2024-25. Clearly, he could be free at the end of next season and PSG could therefore lose him without receiving transfer compensation. A hypothesis that the capital club refuses, opening the door to a departure from “KM” this summer if it does not extend. And it’s a state affair, apparently.
Already intervened last year, in order to convince the captain of the France team to return to the Parisian colors, Emmanuel Macron intends to take up the case again. Asked by a young supporter dressed in a jersey of the 24-year-old Parisian star this Wednesday, on the sidelines of the VivaTech show in Paris, the President of the Republic first clarified that he has “no scoop” on this topic. “But I will try to push for,” he added, when asked if Mbappé will stay at PSG this summer.
Last year, when he was at the end of his contract and seemed promised to Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé spoke with President Macron, the latter having clearly pushed him to stay in the French capital. He had not been the only one in the case: one of his predecessors at the Elysée, Nicolas Sarkozy, had also pleaded the cause of Paris Saint-Germain with the crack of Bondy. “We exchanged. The president (Macron) likes football, Mr. Sarkozy too, he often comes to the Parc des Princes. We discussed a lot about this possibility of continuing in Paris or going to Madrid. They strongly advised me to continue in my country, to write the history of PSG a little more. But it is above all my decision and I took it personally,” Mbappé said after his extension.
And to add, about his exchanges with Emmanuel Macron in 2022: “This is where we see that football has changed and that it has an important place in society. It is important to also know how to stay in one’s place despite the importance that can be given to me in the country”. One thing is certain: football is more political than ever. The proof.
