(Paris) Is this the beginning of reconciliation? After a standoff of several weeks with its star, Paris Saint-Germain decided to reintegrate Kylian Mbappé into the first team on Sunday, a sign of a notable relaxation between the two parties.
The day after the soporific draw conceded by the Parisians against Lorient at the Parc des Princes, during the 1st day of Ligue 1 (0-0), the club and the 2018 world champion have obviously decided to play the card of appeasement . It could even be the harbingers of a future agreement, and therefore the resolution of a crisis which threatened to seriously falter PSG.
“After very constructive and positive discussions between Paris Saint-Germain and Kylian Mbappé before the PSG-Lorient match, this Saturday August 12 the player was reinstated in the first training team this [Sunday] morning”, thus indicated the Parisian club in a press release.
Until then, the positions of the two camps seemed completely fixed, Mbappé wishing to go to the end of his contract, in June 2024, without extending it, while the leaders of PSG considered it impossible to let their star leave for free in a year and said they were ready to sell it this summer.
The conflict had reached its climax with the dismissal of the player, deprived at the end of July of the tour of Japan and South Korea then of the reception of Lorient in the league on Saturday.
A rapprochement had all the same sketched out on Saturday and some signs could suggest a lull. Mbappé had not failed to greet the arrival in Paris of Ousmane Dembélé, with whom he was world champion in 2018 in the jersey of the Blues.
“Welcome home my brother, so happy to see you here, the adventure begins,” he wrote on Instagram.
The two friends then appeared together and all smiles in the stands of the Parc des Princes to attend PSG-Lorient, while Neymar, for whom the doors for a departure are wide open, was conspicuous by his absence.
Walled in silence, Mbappé has in any case always displayed an unfailing serenity during his public appearances, stopping in particular to sign autographs when he arrives at the PSG training center in Poissy, just to show that he remained fully involved in the life of the club despite the desires of its leaders to sell.
By obtaining his reinstatement, he has partly won his case even if it is still too early to know if we are heading towards an extension of the player’s contract, as required by the management of the club, owned by Qatar since 2011.
The offensive weaknesses, still observed on Saturday against Lorient, may have prompted PSG to soften their attitude towards the top scorer in their history, now available for the trip to Toulouse on August 19, even if he has only played one game, a friendly, against Le Havre in the past two months.
On the side of the PSG, it is estimated in any case that the intransigence shown in this file ended up paying off and that it is part of the “revolution” started this summer.
“The PSG institution has never been so strong”, we explain, citing in particular the suspension of Lionel Messi for his unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia at the end of last season, the non-renewal of the contract of the sevenfold Ballon Argentinian gold, the probable departure of Neymar, the opening of the imposing training center in Poissy or the emphasis on young players for recruitment.
Brazilian striker Neymar is “probably about to leave” PSG, a source familiar with the negotiations told AFP on Sunday, referring to an offer from Saudi Arabia.
The Brazilian N.10, who arrived in Paris in 2017 from FC Barcelona for the record sum of 220 million euros, “is no longer part of the coach’s and club’s plans”, confirmed the same source.
According to a source familiar with the negotiations, the 31-year-old is currently negotiating with a Saudi league club, “who will then have to find an agreement with PSG”. The team evokes Sunday an offer of Al-Hilal.
Returning this summer after a serious ankle injury, Neymar took part in all the preparation of the capital club, even resuming competition in a friendly against the South Koreans of Jeonbuk Motors (3-0) during the Asian tour of the PSG when he had not played since mid-February. He had shown himself to his advantage, signing a double.
But the Brazilian was not selected for the first day of Ligue 1 after suffering from a “viral syndrome” during the week, according to the club.
