France's forward Kylian Mbappe gives a press conference at the team's training grounds in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines, southwest of Paris, on June 13, 2021, during the UEFA EURO 2020 European Football Championship. / AFP / FRANCK FIFE
Kylian Mbappé has described his own club Paris Saint-Germain as a “divisive team,” amid a contract standoff between the player and the Ligue 1 champions.
Relations between PSG and Mbappé soured last month after the France international said he would not renew his contract that expires at the end of next season, meaning he can leave for free in June 2024.
If he runs down his contract, PSG would be unable to recoup any of the €180 million ($197m) they spent to sign him. PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has said they will not let him go for free.
Mbappé, Ligue 1’s top scorer in the past five seasons, has been linked with a move to Real Madrid.
“I think that playing for PSG doesn’t help much because it’s a divisive team, a divisive club,” he said in an interview with France Football magazine. He did not elaborate.
PSG representatives did not immediately reply when contacted by Reuters for comment Saturday.
PSG have won nine of the past 11 league titles but Mbappé’s frustration lies with their performances in the Champions League — a trophy the French club have never won despite all their investment in the squad.
PSG went out in the round of 16 this year when they were beaten by Bayern Munich, failing to score in both legs. Mbappé was injured for the first leg and said they were “helpless” in the second.
Mbappé said he was the “most decisive player” in the group stage but could not explain what PSG were missing with the club hitting a “glass ceiling” in Europe.
“We did what we could, period. You have to talk to the people who make the team, who organise the squad, who build this club,” he added.
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