The Mbappe and Saint-Germain crisis casts a shadow over the start of the French League

The crisis between Kylian Mbappe and his club, Paris Saint-Germain, casts a shadow over French football, before the start of the new season in the local league this weekend. The crisis dominated the headlines throughout the summer after the Qatar World Cup top scorer refused to extend his contract, which expires in June 2024, and thus he can move to any club in a free deal.

But Saint-Germain did not want to give him up for free, so he decided to confront the striker, who won the award for best player in France four times in a row and the top scorer in the French League in five consecutive seasons, and gave him the choice between renewing his contract or leaving, knowing that his favorite destination remains Real Madrid. Under the pressure, Saint-Germain decided not to call Mbappe to his Asian tour, and a few days ago he was not allowed to train with the first team in preparation for the next season.

Saint-Germain wants to sell him now in order to get a huge amount, after he signed him for 180 million euros from Monaco in 2017. The president of the Qatari-owned club, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, said in statements last month, “We cannot allow the best player in the world to leave for free. It is impossible.” “. The situation does not seem ideal for Paris Saint-Germain’s new Spanish coach, Luis Enrique, who is appointed to succeed French Christophe Galtier.

Regardless of what happens with Mbappe, Paris Saint-Germain now has a new look after winning the title last season with difficulty and failing to impose itself on the continent. Argentine star Lionel Messi left, and veteran Spanish defender Sergio Ramos followed suit. The team needed to strengthen its offensive line even if Mbappe stayed, and he signed young Portuguese striker Goncalo Ramos from Benfica on loan for one season with the possibility of permanent purchase.
The team strengthened its ranks in all lines, joining Slovakian defenders Milan Shkriniar and Luca Hernandez, Portuguese midfielders Manuel and Italian Sher N’Dour, and Spanish strikers Marco Asensio and South Korean Kang-In Lee. Paris Saint-Germain are going into the league as strong favorites to win a 10th title in 12 years, but their domestic rivals could sense their chance if Mbappe moves on.

A notable change in the new season was to reduce the number of clubs from 20 to 18, after two decades of 20 teams participating in the first division, in order to help French clubs become more competitive in Europe by reducing the number of league matches. Despite this, and Messi’s departure, and Mbappe may follow suit, the French League hopes that soliciting offers to obtain the rights to broadcast matches will allow him to make much more money than he is currently doing, especially with regard to international rights.