Mbappé back in PSG first-team squad but Neymar looks set for Saudi Arabia
Kylian Mbappé has been reintegrated back into Paris Saint-Germain’s firstteam squad following “very constructive and positive discussions” between the club and their star asset, but reports in France suggest Neymar could be moving to Saudi Arabia shortly.
Mbappé’s future has been the subject of intense speculation all summer amid the France captain’s 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 AlHilal and the suggestions are the 31year-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.”
Mbappé, who had been given permission to speak to Al-Hilal after the Saudi Pro League club tabled a worldrecord bid of £259m 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 the head coach, Luis Enrique, next weekend at Toulouse.
Luis Enrique had said before the Lorient fixture he was optimistic that the impasse between PSG and Mbappé 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. “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.”