Kylian Mbappé’s situation at PSG explained.

Just months after signing one of the most lucrative contract extensions in the history of football, Kylian Mbappé wants to leave PSG, citing broken promises made to him by the French champions.

The 23-year-old seemed on the verge of joining Real Madrid in the summer before the Ligue 1 side pulled off what was a huge coup at the time and persuaded him to stay in the French capital.

He agreed on a new deal until 2025, which will see him earn a reported £215 million across the three years.

Embed from Getty Images

At the time, it was also said that the contract gave him more power than anyone else at the club. For example, he could take part in discussions about which players to sign and who should be the manager.

But now, the French international player is saying that PSG acted in bad faith and that he signed the contract extension because he thought it was for a longer time.

There are several reasons behind his unhappiness. First of all, he is used as a lone striker, which is not a position he likes very much. He prefers to be paired with another forward giving him more space and freedom to run behind defenders. PSG promised that they would sign somebody to play alongside him, but, despite links with Robert Lewandowski, and Gianluca Scamacca they settled in the end for 19-year-old Hugo Ekitike, who is still very raw.

There were also undertakings made to sign a world-class centre back to help them in their pursuit of that elusive Champions League title. Milan Skriniar of Inter Milan was the main target during the transfer window, but the Slovak never arrived, and an injury to Presnel Kimpembe has left them arguably weaker in that area than last season.

And then there is his deteriorating relationship with Neymar. The pair used to be friends but that has cooled as their careers have taken different trajectories. Mbappé hasn’t even reached his best yet, but Neymar is now 30 and may be starting to get worse.

The understanding that Mbappé was given was that Neymar would have been sold. Instead, he remains at the club and is reported to be resentful of how much money the French star gets. Mbappé for his part believes that the Brazilian is allowed to get away with frequent ill-discipline.

Last, but not least, the team is not playing well. They are first in Ligue 1 and in their Champions Group, but the fact that they haven’t lost in 15 games in all competitions hides a number of problems under their new coach, Christophe Galtier. People have said that he doesn’t have enough tactical knowledge and ideas and that he doesn’t train hard enough. This is not indicative of a team with a winning mentality.

PSG’s Sporting Director Luis Campos has denied suggestions that Mbappé wants to leave the club, and that there had been no discussions between the player and the club hierarchy. However, the fact that Campos, who only came to the club in the summer himself, has also been linked with a move away, suggests that all is not well behind the scenes with the Paris club.