Paris Saint-Germain has a lot of business to get done over the next couple of months when it comes to transfers but nothing is more important than securing the futures of Kylian Mbappé and Neymar Jr.
Both superstars are on contracts that run until 2022 and if you thought transfer speculation was bad now, just wait until next summer when they have a year left on their deal. The rumor mill might actually catch fire.
PSG fans would obviously like to see Mbappé and Neymar remain at the club well beyond 2022 and according to French football journalist and friend of PSG Talk, Jonathan Johnson, the club is preparing to offer the young Frenchman a deal that is similar to what Neymar earns.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Johnson explains that PSG is willing to do whatever it takes to keep Mbappé in the French capital.
“The situation with Mbappé was always that he wanted to wait and see how this season played out, notably in the Champions League, to see if progress was made.”
“Progress has been made in that PSG have returned to the quarter-finals, but the problem is that PSG don’t know if they’re able to go any further at the moment because Champions League action hasn’t resumed.”
“PSG have already made it very clear to him that they want to offer him the same sort of financial terms that somebody like Neymar enjoys, in light of the fact that Mbappé has become one of the real stars of the club.”
“PSG are willing to move everything to keep Mbappé. But until the Champions League comes to its end and we know exactly where the club finished, I don’t think we’ll see any major progress there.”
“PSG are aware of the fact that his contract is running into its final two years and want to tie that up as quickly as possible. His people appreciate that, but also want to be totally sure that he wants to commit his future to PSG.”
For a bit of context regarding what Mbappé is looking for financially, Neymar currently earns a gross monthly salary of €3.06 million, per L’Equipe, and Mbappé brings in €1.91 million. The Brazilian will likely get a slight bump in pay if he signs an extension but its Mbappé who will see the biggest increase.
After reading Johnson’s comments, what I wonder is how much weight will Mbappé put on this season’s Champions League considering the five-month layoff between their qualification for the quarter-finals on March 11, and the expected resumption of the tournament in August. If PSG crashes out in the next round, can Mbappé really blame the club?
The most important thing to remember here is that Mbappé is 21-years-old. He has plenty of time to join Real Madrid during his career. Winning PSG’s first Champions League title means more to him than any accomplishment under Zinedine Zidane. The same goes for Neymar. Winning would validate his decision to leave FC Barcelona in 2017.
With the coronavirus impacting the finances of clubs around Europe, PSG is uniquely positioned to not only pay their two superstars what they want, but also have funds to build a team around them that can compete at a high level. For that reason, I think it’s only a matter of time until Mbappé and Neymar commit to PSG past 2022.
Want more PSG? Visit the PSG Talk Podcast Network page and subscribe to PSG Talking, The 1970, and 24th & Parc.
