Kylian Mbappe looking for PSG exit, puts pressure for January transfer over reported broken relationship

Paris Saint-Germain leadership has played down Tuesday’s reports that Kylian Mbappe wants to leave Parc des Princes this winter because he feels “betrayed” by the club. The French superstar reportedly believes that the Ligue 1 champions have not kept promises which were made when he extended his contract back in May.

PSG are unconcerned by the reports of a “broken relationship” and do not expect Mbappe to depart midway through their latest UEFA Champions League push. The Championnat leaders would consider a massive offer if it was ultimately right for the club, but that is not expected to be as soon as the winter transfer window.

PSG believe that Mbappe and his entourage are pressuring the club who currently have no intention of letting him go having fought so hard to keep him this summer. The 23-year-old star pointedly believes that his position on the pitch and status as the focal point of Les Parisiens’ project is not reflected by his current situation. After the 0-0 draw away at Stade de Reims over the weekend, PSG’s No. 7 hastily published and then deleted a social media post featuring “pivot gang” which was interpreted as a reference to his role.

Le Parisien and RMC Sport in France report that Mbappe feels betrayed by chairman and CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi and owners Qatar Sports Investments as well as Antero Henrique while Fabrizio Romano affirms that the situation is “tense.” The Qatari supremo played a key role in the former AS Monaco man’s new deal after former sporting director Leonardo’s failure to agree terms. Ex-sporting director Henrique was brought back to oversee transfer negotiations and notably the departures of unwanted figures.

Mbappe has spoken publicly of his preference for a two-man attack, similar to the system in place with France alongside Karim Benzema or Olivier Giroud. Galtier and Luis Campos tried to bring in a fourth attacker as well as another central defender this past summer which has dictated the need to rely upon Lionel Messi and Neymar’s strong form.

“It is a piece of information,” Campos told Canal+ pre-match. “We have rumours every day and we cannot always come and speak about rumours. In this case it is special becausewe had just a few hours before a very important match and it is serious. It is serious because my name is there too and especially because I am with Kylian every single day. Kylian has never spoken to me about leaving in January. I was with the President and Kylian has never spoken with him about leaving in January. It is not a declaration from the player — it is a piece of information and before a big match like this one, it is very serious. That is why I am here — to deny and clearly say that Kylian has never spoken to the President nor to myself about leaving in January. It is a question that has never come up, and we have never spoken about it. That much must be very clear. We are talking about experienced players. It is not a declaration, it is a piece of information and not one that will destabilise the squad.”

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Despite additional reports that Campos intends to quit his advisory role, PSG do not expect anything to happen on that front despite some brief disagreements over the summer window. The Portuguese transfer guru is planning for January and despite not being directly involved in QSI’s entrance into SC Braga this week, Campos is invested in the links between the clubs.

“For me, I have a three-year contract with PSG,” said Campos of his situation. “I am very happy to be here and I work every day so that PSG at the end of my contract can have something extraordinary on their honours list. We speak with Kylian every day, as we do with Neymar, Lionel, Vitinha, Marco — all the players. They all have ideas, and we all discuss things. Everything regarding player recruitment was said a month ago and it was very clear. It is important now to know that we work hard to be strong, we are happy to be here and we are doing our maximum so that this season and at the end of next season the club is happy and pleased to have us here.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, PSG remain adamant that Mbappe will not be sold midseason and that the player is focused on achieving Champions League success. Galtier was “blindsided” by the claims that Mbappe is unhappy and suggested as much in his post-game press conference. However, tension does exist which needs to be calmed and PSG will not entertain an exit at any price before at least next summer.

“I know nothing,” said Galtier after the final whistle. “A rumor became a report and then it led to a statement. I find it very surprising that this happened before a very important game. I did not see anything different in the way that Kylian prepared for the match. I have never heard of this from Kylian nor from the management. Kylian was intense on the pitch and the most dangerous player. That was his response to this. We were focused on the clash and I do not believe that we were disturbed at all.”