PARIS — France captain Kylian Mbappe has informed Paris St Germain that he is leaving the club in July as a free agent seven years after joining the side, The Athletic website reported.
“Mbappe has communicated his decision to PSG but the terms of his exit are yet to be fully agreed. An official announcement is expected once the situation is finalised in the next few months,” the report said according to Reuters.
The forward, who won the World Cup in 2018, joined PSG from Monaco in August 2017 and has helped them win five Ligue 1 titles.
The 25-year-old has scored 20 goals in the league this season as PSG pursue their third title in a row.
Mbappe has been widely tipped to move to Real Madrid and, according to a source close to the matter, has already entered negotiations with the Spanish giants.
“The terms of the departure have yet to be fully agreed,” the source said, adding that the club and Mbappe will make an official statement “when everything is finalised in the next few months”.
PSG declined to comment when contacted by AFP.
Mbappe will leave PSG on a free transfer but the blow to the club will be softened by an agreement they reached last summer which will see the player waive bonuses amounting to around 60 to 70 million euros ($65.6 million to $76.6 million).
After seven seasons at PSG, Mbappe, the club’s all-time top scorer, looks set to seal a move to Real Madrid, the club that the player has dreamt of since he was a child.
Real has made no secret of their desire to bring him to the Santiago Bernabeu. In 2019, 2021 and 2022, club president Florentino Perez considered signing him, only to be rebuffed each time.
For PSG, the departure of their main star, a year after the exits of Neymar and Lionel Messi, marks the beginning of a new era of uncertainty.
Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen is likely to be PSG’s priority target given his likelihood to leave Napoli despite having signed a new contract with the club last year, with his new deal believed to contain a release clause of more than €100 million, although Chelsea are thought to be leading the race for the 25-year-old.
PSG advisor Luis Campos previously signed Osimhen for Lille, while Napoli maintain a good relationship with the French side, having sold Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Fabian Ruiz, to them in recent years.
Osimhen would arguably represent the closest player in terms of pedigree to Mbappe, having scored 33 league goals for Napoli since the start of last season, although he has been outpaced this year by Martinez in Serie A.
Martinez is on course for his best campaign ever, having netted 19 times in 21 games this season – seven more than any other player in Serie A and one behind Mbappe’s current total this year.
However, both Martinez and Osimhen would cost a considerably high amount, while Sesko is believed to also have a buyout in his contract but for a more affordable €50m.
Sesko would represent more of a project for PSG, having scored just six times in the Bundesliga this season and still yet to establish himself as a first choice starter for RB Leipzig.
