 to activate a 12-month extension in his Paris Saint-Germain contract, something he has no intention of doing. And to add an extra twist to the never-ending saga, at exactly the same time he becomes entitled to half of a €80m (£68.7m) loyalty bonus that complicates the club's ability to invest elsewhere. It is a story with many short-term questions and long-term certainties. Mbappe is destined to join Real Madrid - it is just a case of when that remains unknown. His immediate future, however, will define the rest of this summer transfer window. When the new deadline passes, the need for PSG to sell him becomes even more pressing. But with Al Hilal's €300m the only firm offer on the table and Mbappe reluctant to move to Saudi Arabia, the impasse means PSG face a suboptimal dilemma: find another place to sell Mbappe over the next four weeks at a price less than his true evaluation or lose him for free to Real in 12 months. 'My position is very clear,' club chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi said earlier this month. 'I don't want to repeat it every time: if Kylian wants to stay, we want him to stay. But he needs to sign a new contract. 'We don't want to lose the best player in the world for free, we can't do that. This is a French club. He said he would never leave for free. If he changes his mind today, it's not my fault. We don't want to lose the best player in the world for free, that's very clear.' Mbappe formally notified the club of his intention not to pick up the extension in the middle of July in a letter having previously told them verbally but the signs had long been there. "The letter that was sent only served to confirm what I had already told them," he said. Tension has be){kind=link}
Kylian Mbappe is set to earn half of a â¬80m bonus if he remains at PSG on Tuesday morning but by that point the deadline for him to extend his contract by a year will have also passed
The clock is ticking and the power rests with the world’s best player. Kylian Mbappe has until midnight (August 1) to activate a 12-month extension in his Paris Saint-Germain contract, something he has no intention of doing.
And to add an extra twist to the never-ending saga, at exactly the same time he becomes entitled to half of a â¬80m (£68.7m) loyalty bonus that complicates the club’s ability to invest elsewhere. It is a story with many short-term questions and long-term certainties. Mbappe is destined to join Real Madrid – it is just a case of when that remains unknown. His immediate future, however, will define the rest of this summer transfer window.
When the new deadline passes, the need for PSG to sell him becomes even more pressing. But with Al Hilal’s â¬300m the only firm offer on the table and Mbappe reluctant to move to Saudi Arabia, the impasse means PSG face a suboptimal dilemma: find another place to sell Mbappe over the next four weeks at a price less than his true evaluation or lose him for free to Real in 12 months.
“My position is very clear,” club chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi said earlier this month. “I don’t want to repeat it every time: if Kylian wants to stay, we want him to stay. But he needs to sign a new contract.