Paris SG superstar striker Kylian Mbappé has decided to extend to Paris SG, where his current contract expires on June 30, after hesitating for a long time with Real Madrid who were courting him, several French and Spanish media announced on Saturday.
Party at Paris SG! Despite Real Madrid’s advances, Kylian Mbappé decided on Saturday to extend his adventure with the capital club until 2025, which, more than ever, dreams of winning its first Champions League with the supersonic striker.
The Parc des Princes celebrated its new king as it should, author of a hat-trick (25th, 28th, 50th) to defeat Metz (5-0), in the last match of the season. The evening, marked by the festivities of its historic tenth championship title, was magical for the club, which is seeing the light again after a difficult last three months. “It’s perfect”, for Captain Marquinhos, big smile.
Neymar scored his 100th goal for PSG, Angel Di Maria received a nice tribute, the ultras stopped their cheering strike at half-time, there were fireworks… and above all “Kyky” has signed !
At the microphone, on the lawn a few minutes before kick-off, President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi himself went to announce to the public the news which had leaked in the afternoon in several media.
Present by his side on the small platform, Mbappé said he was “very happy” to stay “in (his) city”, in a euphoric stadium which took up his name in unison. The supporters proclaimed their love several times during the meeting for the striker who becomes the “center of the project” as he claimed, in front of Neymar or Lionel Messi.
Courted by Real Madrid all season
“I hope that I will continue to do what I love to do the most, play football and win trophies”, reacted the player, to conclude in style the soap opera which had kept the football planet in suspense for a year.
Courted by Real Madrid, the prodigy of Bondy (23), whose contract expired in June, made the choice of loyalty to a club which recruited him in 2017, when he “was still nobody “, according to his remarks in May 2021.
Today a candidate for the Ballon d’Or, after another exceptional season, the 2018 world champion also had to obtain the sporting guarantees he required to stay.
His decision launches a new summer of major maneuvers at PSG, which has promised to restructure to avoid reliving the embarrassing elimination in the knockout stages of the Champions League against Real last March (0-1, 3-1).
Coach Mauricio Pochettino and sporting director Leonardo are particularly threatened. Several media announce change soon. The first was also the only one to have been whistled during the trophy ceremony, after the meeting.
But before, the PSG lived a last evening of communion. If 2021/22 hasn’t lived up to their galactic ambitions, at least the club is ending on a high note that gives them hope for the next season.
Parisian supporters are relieved to see Mbappé stay, after having resigned himself for a long time, in the face of the optimism of Madrid residents sure of their power of conviction.
– “Insult” to football –
A feeling shared by Samuel Christophe, 25, from Cachan (Val-de-Marne). “This (Saturday) morning, I still couldn’t believe it. It’s only coming…” he breathes. “I don’t know if it saves the season but it’s heartwarming.” Before savoring in passing “it’s a hell of an air conditioning (cold snap, for Real)!”
On the Spanish side, Javier Tebas, the voluble president of the Spanish Professional League (LaLiga), castigated the striker’s turnaround, “an insult to football”, because of the losses recorded by PSG in recent seasons – 225 M EUR nothing than in 2020/21 according to the French League.
The body he heads announced in the evening that he was going to file a “complaint” against PSG to “defend the economic ecosystem of European football”.
This turn of events sounds like a great victory for the Qatari fund QSI, owner of the Rouge et Bleu since 2011, six months before the World Cup organized in the gas state, where Mbappé and the Blues will go to defend their title.
They remain united in their quest to win a first Champions League, after the lost final in 2020 against Bayern Munich (1-0), which the striker played diminished.
While waiting for the new European deadlines, Mbappé received the trophies for top scorer (28) and best passer (17) in the championship, a performance that no one had achieved before him.
Everything is in place for him to beat Edinson Cavani’s record (200 goals) and become the top scorer in the history of PSG. The player, who has 171 goals, could become one in the coming months.
Di Maria will no longer be there to supply it with offerings. The Argentinian received a vibrant tribute from the Park and his teammates, who erected a guard of honor for him when he left (74th). The Argentinian in 294 matches as a Parisian had earlier shed a tear when celebrating his 92nd goal.
He leaves the club, which did not wish to exercise the option of an additional season in its contract, as if to turn the page on a disappointing 2021/22 season. With Mbappé extended, the best is surely yet to come for PSG.