From Contract Extension to Loyalty Bonus: Mbappe’s On-going Transfer Saga Reveals PSG’s Poor Transfer Management Decisions -By Mahbubat Kanyinsola Salahudeen

Despite questions being raised of how long he will be around, kylian Mbappe remains inline bfor a €60m loyalty bonus from the French giants.

The ongoing soap opera starring characters Kylian Mbappe, Paris Saint Germain and Real Madrid has dominated headlines since the start of the transfer window. And now, Al-Hilal recently joined in the show.

How It All Began

Kylian Mbappe commited himself to a two-year contract extension with option to extend until 2025 when he put pen to paper to remain in Paris until 2024. The Frenchman had earlier saw out his four-year contract in 2022 having joined PSG from Monaco and prior to his contract extension, rumours circulating had linked him with a move to Real Madrid. However, PSG were able to produce a contract which was perhaps too remarkable for the player to turn down. The contract which is reportedly worth €630m included some unprecedented factors the player would enjoy including spot kicks, having a huge say in off-field decisions and appointments within PSG’s hierarchy.

With the new contract last summer, Nasser Al-Khelaifi made Mbappe the face of the club’s project in a desperate attempt to prevent a move to Madrid. Less tthan a year later, the player wants out and has rejected the option of an extension which means he will be a free agent next year.

“Mbappe Cannot Leave For Free” – Al- Khelaifi

However, it appears PSG management aren’t buying any of it with the president quite correctly revealed in an interview that Mbappe cannot be allowed to go for free. Clearly, the French giants have invested so much in the player, from taking penalty duties from Neymar following the duo’s squabble over a spot-kick against Montpellier last August to little or no scrutiny from the PSG media. He is the club’s local champion, the Parisian poster boy and had almost always delivered despite failures at bringing European glory to the French capital. PSG may have succeeded in keeping Mbappe in his country town, but it further reveals how little they know of football management.

Besides the succession of mistakes in the transfer marker in recent years, and a desperate attempt to be considered a serious club, President Al-Khelaifi revealed that no one was greater than the club but activities over the past years proves otherwise. It is easy to understand why PSG fought hard to keep Mbappe last summer; he is an undeniable talent and arguably the best player in the world after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi but besides his mesmerising talent, questions about his ego has always been carefully swept under the carpet by the club.

It’s surprising how it took PSG to long to realize that by ceding to all Mbappe request, PSG effectively made him bigger than the club. From publicly airing his grievances to tagging PSG a decisive club, PSG have been made to look weak by Mbappe. He took advantage of the situation a year ago through continuous flirtation with Real Madrid and now he’s doing it again thanks to the club’s approach at making him indispensable and making him aware of it.

Just when football fans thought the whole noise from the sequel was about to go down, little did they know that a requel was about to begin. Surely, loosing the world’s most valuable player for free would be unthinkable for a club that has spent so much and with the recent transfer of European players to the Saudi League, Al-Hilal decided to try their luck by submitting a €300m bid to PSG. The proposal included: €300m fee to PSG, €700m salary and a one-year contract allowing him to join Madrid for free next summer.

While the bid might seems like a win-win for all parties, Mbappe has already made it clear that “it’s not about the money.” PSG have reportedly accepted Al-Hilal record bid but no deal is possible without the player’s signature.

PSG Must Prove They Are A Serious Club

The on-going soap opera could have as well been avoided had PSG not put themselves in this situation a year ago. They wouldn’t have had to pay a €60m loyalty bonus to the player plus they wouldn’t behave had his huge wage bill on their books and they would have received €200m from Real Madrid as transfer fees.

Simply put, little would have been lost had they allowed Mbappe to leave. This is a player who has never hidden his attraction for Real Madrid and has failed to bring UCL glory to the French team. He has been in Paris for six years, six seasons and over the time five European team have won the tournament, Real Madrid in 2018 and 2022, Liverpool in 2019, Bayern Munich in 2020, Chelsea in 2021 and Manchester City in 2023 and none of which possess a player of Mbappe’s calibre which further proves that it’s entirely possible to win the competition without him.

Madrid has been quite through the entire saga but speculations suggest that a deal might have been struck between the Parisian outcast and the Spanish giants to arrive at Madrid next summer. Nevertheless, the soap opera has to end this summer. with Mbappe on the transfer list, PSG must begin making the right decisions to show that they are transitioning to a serious club. It’s time to learn from past mistakes.