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regular-article-logo Saturday, 18 May 2024

Kylian Mbappe's shadow looms over Paris Saint-Germain’s Asia tour

Mbappe was left out of a squad of 29 players for the French champion’s pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea amid a contract dispute

Our Bureau Paris Published 24.07.23, 09:35 AM
(from left) Neymar, Keylor Navas and Marquinhos in the plane on way to Osaka for the pre-season tour.

(from left) Neymar, Keylor Navas and Marquinhos in the plane on way to Osaka for the pre-season tour. Twitter

Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos said on Sunday he hoped the club would solve its dispute with Kylian Mbappe and welcome the France superstar back into the squad for the upcoming season.

Mbappe was left out of a squad of 29 players for the French champion’s pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea amid a contract dispute.

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The 24-year-old France captain has been put up for sale by PSG, according to media reports, after relations between the two parties soured last month.

“He is an exceptional player but it is a decision that was taken over our heads, by the management,” Marquinhos told reporters in Osaka.

He admitted it was a “delicate” subject. “Even in Japan you are here with your questions,” he complained, although new coach Luis Enrique, sitting alongside the Brazilian, escaped without being asked about Mbappe.

“We always want to have top players with us and I hope a decision will be taken to allow him to be with us and help us this season,” Marquinhos added.

Sources close to Mbappe also assure that he has a huge offer from a club in Saudi Arabia.

PSG, without Mbappe but with his younger brother Ethan, are due to face Al Nassr, the Saudi club for whom Cristiano Ronaldo plays, in a friendly in Osaka on Tuesday.

France’s National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) has slammed the Ligue 1 champions for excluding Mbappe.

“These players — all of them — must enjoy the same working conditions as the rest of the professional workforce,” the UNFP, the main trade union for professional football players in France, said in a lengthy statement.

“The UNFP feels it would be useful to remind managers that putting pressure on an employee to force them to leave or accept what the employer wants constitutes moral harassment, which French law firmlycondemns.

Written with inputs from Reuters

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