Mbappe: 3 reasons why PSG forward was left out of pre-season camp

Paris Saint-Germain forward and France national team captain Kylian Mbappe is set to miss out on the Ligue 1 champions’ pre-season training camp after being left out of the travelling contingent to Japan.

As the saga between the Frenchman and Les Parisiens continues, here are three reasons why PSG were forced to take the drastic step.

The French forward had been set to leave PSG in 2022 but was convinced to stay back thanks to a bumper wage increase in a two-year deal with an option for a third.

Despite having the option to extend his current contract until 2025, Mbappe has already let PSG know that he intends to leave the club at the end of the 2023/24 season, leading to tension between him and the club, who are desperate to either keep the forward for longer or sell him immediately.

The Paris club reportedly feel betrayed by Mbappe, whom they believe has already been in talks with Real Madrid again ahead of a potential free transfer in 2024.

Mbappe was close to joining Real Madrid in 2022 before deciding to stay with PSG and the Frenchman has been strongly linked to completing a move to Spain in the near future.

With Mbappe deciding not to extend his contract, reports have intensified about Real Madrid’s involvement in that decision, with PSG now concluding that the France international has already been promised a place at the Bernabeu, especially as the decision not to renew followed the exit of Los Blancos’ former captain Karim Benzema.

Thanks to the notice that Mbappe will not be extending his contract as well as the club’s belief that he intends to join Real Madrid next season for free, PSG are desperate to sell the Frenchman this summer in order to recoup some of the €180 million paid for his signature in 2018.

PSG President Nasser El-Khelaifi issued an ultimatum to Mbappe to either extend his contract with the club beyond 2024 or leave this summer and the club has now backed up the chieftain’s stance by excluding the 24-year-old striker from their pre-season tour of Japan in a bid to force his hand.

Mbappe has already made it clear that he intends to continue with the club in the 2023/24 season, but PSG’s latest stunts of leaving him out of their tour team as well as putting him up for sale might be enough to force the forward to leave the club this summer.