For Paris Saint-Germain, the summer of 2023 may ultimately go down as the time that their extremely high-priced, superstar front line of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe all left. And if/when it does, their legacy does not include a single UEFA Champions League title.
Messi is of course already with Inter Miami, where he has now become topic #1 (as well as topic #2 and #3) in America when it comes to the beautiful game. Let’s take a look right now at where the futures of Neymar and Mbappe might lie.
Neymar likes a post on Instagram which says in the caption:
“Last summer, Mbappé made it clear to PSG that there was no more room for him and Neymar in the same squad. @lequipe. By coincidence, on the day that Neymar was practically announced at Al-Hilal, Mbappé returned to… pic.twitter.com/kvfvGl69fc
— PSG Report (@PSG_Report) August 14, 2023
And I guess these two galactico footballers actually hate each other? That’s what it looks like, at least, given the story in the embedded X posting above. Yes, indeed, superstar athletes can be just as petty as we are when they act out on social media.
Well, they don’t have to be co-workers anymore, as Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal have signed Neymar in a massive deal worth up to £86 million, and that brings an end to the polarizing figure’s six-year stint in the French capital (h/t The Guardian). The Saudi Pro League has made major moves this summer, as they kind of took that niche that Major League Soccer once had, and ramped it up majorly.
Neymar is their biggest move yet, this summer, and it’s astonishing to think that Saudi top flight will have both him and Ronaldo next season.
Now let’s move on to Mbappe, who is probably as big of an attention as you’ll find anywhere in football. Mbappe and PSG are like Elaine and Putty (her face-painting, New Jersey Devils boyfriend portrayed by the deep-voiced Patrick Warburton)- always “breaking up,” but ultimately always actually staying together.
This has been the third consecutive transfer window of Kylian Mbappe supposedly leaving PSG for Real Madrid narratives, and once again, it may not even happen. He’s also been strongly linked to Chelsea and Liverpool, but it’s hard to see either destination as realistic. Jurgen Klopp greatly enjoys shooting down the Anfield narratives, and Chelsea have blown their transfer budget already.
Besides we saw reports over the weekend that Mbappe’s people are in talks about actually renewing his PSG contract. But actually, no, such is not the case.
??| JUST IN: Kylian Mbappé does NOT want to extend his contract with PSG. His decision has NOT changed. @lequipe #rmalive pic.twitter.com/ChzdNnKLNA
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) August 14, 2023
So what is actually going to happen? Mbappe probably stays put in Paris this season, and Real Madrid gets their long coveted target next summer. If you want to read more about this contract stand-off/mother of all transfer sagas, go here and here. But I get it, if you’re sick of all this craziness, and would just rather not.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.