PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi claims Kylian Mbappe has 'no excuse' not to sign new deal
By Max Cooper
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has stated there is 'no excuse' for Kylian Mbappe not to pen a new deal in the French capital, following the ambitious signing of football icon Lionel Messi.
The 22-year-old's current contract expires at the end of the season, meaning he could begin negotiations for a free transfer away from Les Parisiens in January 2022. PSG have been pushing for him to tie his future to the Parc des Princes, but the World Cup winner has not been so forthcoming.
PSG president Al-Khelaifi was asked about Mbappe's contract stalemate during Messi's unveiling on Wednesday morning, and he pulled no punches in his assessment of the situation, insisting the Frenchman has 'no excuse' not to sign a new deal.
“I think everyone knows what Kylian's future is: he is Parisian. He's said that he wanted a competitive team - there's no excuse to do anything else now.”
Mbappe wants to compete at the highest level and had been waiting to see the club's ambitions in the transfer market before committing the next years of his career to the Ligue 1 giants. And this summer's activity has certainly been a statement of intent.
PSG have signed Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi, Georginio Wijnaldum and now Messi all in the space of a couple of months, building an all-star squad which is a match for any club in Europe.
The club's ambitions convinced Neymar to extend his contract in Paris until 2025 and they are hoping Mbappe will follow suit. The superstar has regularly been linked with a move to Real Madrid, who may fancy their chances at bagging him on a free transfer.
PSG won't allow themselves to be forced into selling Mbappe to recoup some cash from the €180m transfer fee they paid when signing the Frenchman back in 2017, either. 90min exclusively revealed on Tuesday that PSG want him to form a strike force with Neymar and Messi and will not entertain any offers this summer.
Al-Khelaifi has assembled this group of superstars to finally complete the club's main aim of winning the Champions League.
The French outfit are still waiting to lift the prestigious trophy, having reached the final and semi-final in the past two seasons. Even with the likes of Neymar and Mbappe, they've fallen short of writing their names into the history books, and the club's owner has set about rectifying this drought with the signings of the game's biggest names.