PSG forgive Mbappe and allow him to return to first-team training
The forward is no longer being sidelined
There has been a new chapter in the Kylian Mbappe saga this Sunday, as PSG have announced that the 24-year-old is no longer being sidelined from the rest of the first-team squad.
He’ll be allowed to return to first-team training after several days being forced to work out with the other transfer-listed players.
“Following very constructive and positive discussions between Paris Saint-Germain and Kylian Mbappe before the PSG vs Lorient game, the player has been reinstated into the first team training squad this morning,” the club reported on Sunday.
The club decided to lift the punishment because they understand that Mbappe has shown a new level of commitment to the club.
The player was ruled out on July 21 and since then nothing had changed, as he didn’t go on tour or take part in pre-season friendlies.
But, now something has changed. On Saturday, he could be seen attending his team’s Ligue 1 match with his brother and Ousmane Dembele, before being allowed to return to training on Sunday.
PSG’s stance on Mbappe
PSG are sticking to the same stance with the player, as they want either a renewal or immediate sale, but now it seems that a renewal might be possible.
The club could promise the Frenchman an agreed exit next summer if he really does want to leave.
This agreement would be verbal, though, as release clauses aren’t permitted in French law.
According to L’Equipe, Nasser Al-Khelaifi was present on Sunday morning at the French club’s training ground and spoke with Mbappe.
The club will now make a final decision and communicate it to Luis Enrique.
PSG’s plan to ‘Frenchify’ the squad
According to RMC, PSG’s plan to ‘Frenchify’ the squad to retain Mbappe seems to be working, putting the icing on the cake with the signing of his friend Dembele.
The arrival of Lucas Hernandez and the possible addition of Randal Kolo Muani also help.
Filling the squad with compatriots was a promise PSG made to the player in the past, but they weren’t delivering.
Now they are, while the potential departure of Neymar could also convince Mbappe to renew his contract until 2025.
Kylian Mbappe returns to PSG squad after ‘constructive and positive’ talks
Kylian Mbappe has been reintegrated back into Paris St Germain’s first-team squad following “very constructive and positive discussions” between the club and their star asset.
The France captain’s future has been the subject of intense speculation all summer amid his preference of a move to Real Madrid and he was recently barred from senior training amid a fraught stand-off.
He watched on from the stands as PSG began their Ligue 1 title defence in underwhelming fashion with a goalless draw against Lorient on Saturday, with Neymar another conspicuous absentee from the matchday squad. Neymar has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal with reports in France suggesting the 31-year-old Brazil forward could complete a deal in the coming days.
But PSG confirmed on Sunday that Mbappe had returned to first-team training, amid links the 24-year-old forward is ready to extend his contract with the club beyond next summer.
PSG said in a statement on their social channels: “Following very constructive and positive discussions between Paris St Germain and Kylian Mbappe before the PSG-Lorient game, the player has been reinstated into the first-team training squad this morning.”
Mbappe, who had been given permission to speak to Al Hilal after the Saudi Pro League club tabled a world-record bid of £259million last month, has just one year left to run on his existing PSG deal.
He has so far refused any extension and would be able to negotiate a free transfer in January but it has been reported he will commit to PSG until 2025, allowing the club to sell him to Real next summer.
The 2018 World Cup winner, who is PSG’s all-time leading scorer with 212 goals in just 260 appearances, could come into the reckoning for head coach Luis Enrique next weekend at Toulouse.
Enrique had said ahead of the Lorient fixture he was optimistic that the impasse between PSG and Mbappe would be swiftly resolved.
“It is something that has already happened in the past and there was a positive solution before I was here,” he said in his pre-match press conference.
“I hope and wish that, just like in the past, the same thing will happen again and that the club and the player will reach an agreement.”
