Paris Saint-Germain are going to find it “difficult” to keep Kylian Mbappe and may have to change their transfer strategy, says Thierry Henry.
- Another setback suffered in Europe
- Striker signed new contract in 2022
- Exit talk still raging at Parc des Princes
WHAT HAPPENED? The Ligue 1 title holders are facing up to another season without Champions League glory, following a last-16 defeat to Bayern Munich, and are seeing questions asked of whether a number of prized assets will be sticking around at Parc des Princes. World Cup-winning forward Mbappe did commit to a new contract through to 2024 last year, but he has looked unhappy at times this term and continues to be linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Liverpool.
WHAT THEY SAID: Former France international Henry fears Mbappe may be tempted to leave in the summer, with PSG having to re-evaluate how they set about building a competitive squad. The 1998 World Cup winner told CBS Sports: “Do you have to go back and sign young French players from the Paris area because they idolised this club? You saw Kingsley Coman the other day when he scored, he didn’t celebrate. If that’s the project, maybe the fans can look at it and think that it could be very interesting. Maybe it’s a way, I don’t think it is, of keeping Kylian Mbappe going in this direction. Now I think it’s going to be difficult to keep him even if he stayed (last summer).”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Henry added on the prospect of PSG abandoning a recruitment policy that has seen them seek to snap up proven performers that have already won every major honour: “What is the plan? What is the identity? What is the philosophy? What are you trying to achieve? I have said very often that there is a rift between the club and many supporters of the former PSG. They almost preferred the former Paris Saint-Germain. Which may seem crazy since if you had told me 20 years ago that Paris was going to have this team I would have thought it was a joke, it could not not happen. The fans of the time would have said: ‘give me the papers, where do I sign’. Now that they have this team, they are not always happy because they cannot always relate to this team.”
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WHAT NEXT? PSG remain on course to defend their Ligue 1 crown in 2023 as they sit eight points clear of the chasing pack, while Mbappe has become the club’s all-time leading scorer, but big money has been invested in landing an elusive Champions League title and it may be that a change in approach is now implemented.
