It is probably the most spectacular non-transfer in football history: Kylian Mbappé extends his contract with Paris Saint-Germain until 2025. In return, the 23-year-old receives a lot of money and even more power. As the Spanish league rages on, the player and the French club plan revolution.
Kylian Mbappé's contract extension at Paris Saint-Germain continues to send shockwaves through international football. Qatar's football flagship is about to replace its coach and sports director, the Spanish league is threatening to sue and a former German national coach is also involved. The "Mbappé Revolution" is probably the most sensational non-transfer in football history and the 23-year-old is probably the highest-paid player in the business.
Paris Saint-Germain has money, lots of money. But so far little success in international football. Year after year they are eliminated early in the Champions League, and when it does go to the final, Bayern are there and win 1-0 sober - that's what happened in the first pandemic summer of 2020. But the European project of the World Cup -Hosts of 2022, the State of Qatar, celebrated a spectacular success on Saturday.
Even before the last game of the Ligue1 season, PSG triumphed in front of the eyes of the world. Before Kylian Mbappé could contribute three goals to make it 5-0 over FC Metz, he stood on a stage and announced his contract extension until 2025, fireworks were set off behind him, the fans unfurled a gigantic banner and club boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi stood next to him and celebrated his huge success holding an Mbappé shirt printed with the year 2025. The powerful Qatari lord had not only tied the superstar to the club, but also smacked Real Madrid and Spanish football.
"A shame for football," said Spanish league president Javier Tebas on Twitter. He calculated how much loss PSG had made in recent years and how high the salary was already. In an angry statement, La Liga then announced that they would sue the Parisians with UEFA, the French administrative and tax authorities and the European Union authorities. Of course, to save football and "defend its sustainability".
Al-Khelaifi, who is also president of the European Club Association ECA and a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, received the full league broadside. "This behavior, operated by Nasser Al-Khelaifi, is a danger to European football to a similar extent as the Super League," said the statement from the Spanish league, which, with Barcelona and Real Madrid, still have two clubs to look after have not yet broken away from the crashing Super League.
In his statement, Tebas should also have been concerned about the ever-declining attractiveness of the Spanish league. Cristiano Ronaldo hasn't played in Madrid for a long time, Lionel Messi left Barcelona for Paris last summer and Erling Haaland left Borussia Dortmund for Manchester City instead of one of the Spanish giants.
Since 2009, they have been chasing the victory in the Champions League with the billions of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Like Qatar, the UAE has been accused of sportswashing its investments in football. Qatar, the Emirates and possibly soon Saudi Arabia, who are growing a new super club in the north of England with Newcastle United. The oil states are attacking the old structures of club football and it is powerless.
With all the excitement, it must be assumed that Tebas also knew the financial figures behind the failed move. According to media reports, Real Madrid's offer for the player, who was out of contract in the summer, was around 150 million euros just for the signature, 40 million annual salary and the retention of the majority rights to his pictures.
PSG, on the other hand, with the influential club boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi, not only offered him more money in the end, but also additional influence in the club. "This revolution in Paris is particularly exciting because of one fact," says PSG expert Jonathan Johnson, who reports from Paris for the US broadcaster CBS, in an interview with ntv.de, "Mbappé seems to set the club on the field to higher standards The revolution could thus be even more pitch-focused. That would also explain the forthcoming decisions in the sporting hierarchy."
These decisions will be drastic. Sports director Leonardo will have to resign and Thomas Tuchel's successor on the PSG coaching bench, Argentinian Mauricio Pochettino, will no longer be part of the project. "They have contributed to PSG's stagnation," says Johnson. "The rebuild will take some time, but after that PSG could be a real contender for Champions League success and end France's losing streak in the premier league."
Surprisingly, former national coach Joachim Löw could also become part of this project. He only announced on Saturday that he wanted to return to the coaching bench and, according to "L'Equipe", should be one of the candidates for Pochettino's successor. In addition to Löw, the daily sports newspaper also lists the Belgian national coach Roberto Martinez, the ex-PSG professional Thiago Motta and Christophe Galtier from OGC Nice. The former Real Madrid coach, Zinedine Zidane, therefore does not play a major role in the plans.
There has also been much speculation in recent months as to whether Qatar would withdraw from European football after the Winter World Cup in November and December 2022, but Mbappé's contract extension can also be seen as a long-term commitment for Paris. "It's just an indicator that Qatar is far from done with Paris," says PSG expert Johnson: "Possible success in the Champions League could quench their thirst, but it could also make them look for more successes thirst to stay longer."
Paris Saint-Germain has been equipped with Qatari oil billions for eleven years, Qatar Sports Investments manages the fortunes of the club and has spent enormous sums on the rise of the former French middle-class club to a global brand. With Lionel Messi, Neymar and Mbappé, three of the most expensive football players in the world are currently playing for the Parisians.
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