PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain left for its pre-season tour of Japan on Saturday without talismanic striker Kylian Mbappé, whose future at the club looks increasingly uncertain amid an ongoing contract dispute.
Mbappé has already told the club he won’t trigger a 12-month extension on his contract, but said he would start this coming season with the French champion.
PSG left the France forward out of its 29-man squad for the Japan tour.
The club does not want to let him leave for free at the end of next season and says the 2022 World Cup top scorer will either sign a new contract or be sold.
The 24-year-old Mbappé wrote to tell PSG of his plans last month.
News of the letter immediately sparked a transfer frenzy that saw Mbappé linked again with Real Madrid, which had offered 180 million euros ($190 million) for the striker in 2021.
Madrid missed out again last year when Mbappé signed a new deal with PSG until 2024 with an option for 2025 that needs to be signed by July 31.
Having seen teammate Lionel Messi leave for Inter Miami after not taking up an option for an extra year, PSG does not want Mbappé leaving as a free agent to Madrid, or anywhere else.
