With Neymar having signed a deal to move to Saudi Pro League side, Al Hilal, Paris Saint-Germain now have just the one big name left from their outstanding attacking triumvirate in Kylian Mbappe.
The French World Cup winner would appear to be back in president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi’s good books and will now, apparently, play a part in the Ligue Un champion’s season rather than being ordered to be kicking his heels on the sidelines.
According to L’Equipe, Al-Khelaifi hasn’t given up hope that he can yet persuade his talisman to sign a new deal at the club, though there’s no evidence to support any theory that Mbappe may change his mind in that regard.
Assuming that the status quo remains the same and the player is adamant that he still wishes to move on at the end of the current campaign, there is another way in which PSG could come out of the situation with some financial gain.
L’Equipe also suggest that the club are looking to the player to give up some of his bonuses during the 2023/24 season, which would save them a monumental €100m-€150m.
It isn’t clear at this stage that Mbappe would be amenable to any such arrangement and obviously brings into question just how long the current agreement between both parties holds up.
If the player refuses to play ball regarding his bonuses, it’s entirely possible that Mbappe will be pulled from the line up again.
Frankly, it’s a mess of PSG’s own making, and they only have themselves to blame.