Kylian Mbappe affirms intention to depart PSG

Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe has told the club's president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, that he intends to leave this summer.

Mbappe is in his final 12 months of the contract and had committed to revealing his decision to Al-Khelaifi himself.

A source known as 90min reports that Mbappe has now delivered his decision, expressing his intentions to leave this summer. However, the particulars of his departure from the French capital remain undefined.

PSG is yet to make an official statement and likely won't until the departure of Mbappe is fully confirmed.

The French forward told Al-Khelaifi that his next move hasn't been finalized and dismissed any claims of a pre-arranged agreement with Real Madrid. Mbappe is familiar with Madrid's offer, as 90min believes it is similar to what they proposed during his last encounter with free agency in 2022.

In the event of leaving as a free agent, Mbappe's departure would not cause a financial loss for PSG, owing to a legally binding agreement with the 25-year-old, saving them around €80m.

His leaving would result in roughly €200m annual savings for PSG, allowing the club to allocate resources towards developing a team of younger players. These include Warren Zaire-Emery, a 17-year-old midfielder, Xavi Simons, a 20-year-old Dutch international on loan with RB Leipzig, and winger Bradley Barcola, 21.

In the wake of this transition, Zaire-Emery and Simons are expected to be given extended contracts, ending a period that saw players like Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi, and Sergio Ramos play for the club.

While the club did attempt to keep Mbappe by offering a €70m annual contract renewal, they have also been planning for his exit by identifying potential replacements.

These prospective replacements include Victor Osimhen, a Napoli striker, Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, and Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.