Ligue 1 English

Even French President Macron is part of the PSG plan to convince Kylian Mbappe to stay at the club

Paris Saint-Germain, leaving no stone unturned, are pulling out all the stops to convince Kylian Mbappe to stay at the club and are allegedly using French president Emmanuel Macron to help convince the French superstar to stay back at the Parc des Princes.

Mbappe had been the subject of intense transfer speculation in the recent summer transfer window, with reports linking him with a long-overdue move to Real Madrid. The Spanish club wanted the superstar forward this summer, but PSG were unflinching and snubbed all offers by the LaLiga giants for the sale of the 22-year-old.

Madrid’s best option now would be to strike a pre-contractual agreement with Mbappe in January before completing a mega free transfer in the summer of 2022 when his current contract expires.

However, be that as it may, the French giants are not likely to just bend over and let the Los Blancos have their way but are hell-bent on keeping their prized asset in the capital, with their big renewal plans revealed.

According to Marca, French president Emmanuel Macron has sent Mbappe personal messages to persuade him to reject Real’s advances.

Mirror’s Colin Millar adds: “It has not been ruled out that this dialogue between Macron and Mbappe will continue, particularly with the striker set to star for Les Bleus in next year’s World Cup in Qatar – a nation with influence at the top of PSG.”

PSG’s other strategic plan of attack to keep Mbappe in Paris includes supporting and promoting his ‘Inspired by KM’ project, which supports disadvantaged children in the city.

Mbappe’s dream move to Real appeared to be on the cards during the summer transfer window until talks broke down between both sides.

Speaking amid the speculation, Mauricio Pochettino said: “He is our player. But you know the business, it’s full of rumors.

“Our president and our director are very clear. He is here with us and we are happy with him. He is an important player, and it is a gift to have him with us.”

On a parallel note, and as an aside, one can’t help but wonder how the Lionel Messi situation would have ended up differently if the big guns at Barcelona had shown the same sincerity to their talisman and had gone the whole hog to keep him at Camp Nou.

Kudos to the big chiefs at PSG for having stuck to their man through thick and thin, from turning a blind eye to the big bucks thrown at them for their prized asset to doing all else they can in showing him full support in all other ways that would matter to him.

These are truly gestures most rare in the cold, commercial world of football today.