TOKYO: Paris Saint-Germain have left Kylian Mbappe out of their squad for a pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea, casting further doubt on the forward’s future at the French champions.
PSG gave no reason for the omission of France’s captain but 24-year-old Mbappe has said for weeks that he is refusing to sign a new contract.
His omission from the tour will fuel fresh speculation that he could leave to join Real Madrid before next season.
As his teammates flew to Asia, Mbappe trained with the reserve team on Saturday and afterwards greeted young fans outside the club’s training complex outside Paris, an AFP reporter saw.
A smiling Mbappe posed for selfies and signed photographs and jerseys as one young supporter shouted “Stay with us Kylian”.
The forward declared in May that he did not want to extend his PSG contract, which expires next year, but indicated he wanted to remain at the club for a final season.
“I still have a year left on my contract and I am going to honour my contract,” he said.
That would allow him to become a free agent next summer and leave PSG for nothing, a prospect that club president Nasser al-Khelaifi said was “impossible”.
“We can’t let the best player in the world today leave for free,” Khelaifi said.
Khelaifi even gave Mbappe an ultimatum of a “maximum two weeks” to make his decision — sign a new contract or leave this summer. That date corresponds roughly with the departure of the team for Asia on Saturday.
When training resumed on July 15, Khelaifi again asked the Mbappe camp to clarify the situation.
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