Mbappé to be the latest in a long line of PSG players to leave for free

Ever since Qatar Sports Investments acquired PSG in 2011, a fundamental principle of the club’s management has been not to allow any star player to leave unless they finish their contract. Kylian Mbappé's situation looks similar (albeit with more nuances): he confirmed last Tuesday, in a face-to-face meeting with the president, his decision not to remain in Paris.

Such news, surprising in terms of the timing, represents the confirmation of the latest star to leave the French capital without PSG receiving any money in a sale. The first of them was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a player who took Paris Saint Germain into another dimension, who, in 2016, decided to leave after not wanting to renew his contract. He was the top scorer in the club’s History until Cavani arrived, and the Swede turned PSG into a true domestic force, despite never doing so in the Champions League.

The Uruguayan was one of the clear example of the heavy-handed policy that Qatar implemented: in 2020 the player asked the sporting management if he could sign for Atletico Madrid, but Leonardo, the sporting director of PSG, postponed the agreement with Los Rojiblancos and raised his price as the winter market progressed.

Eventually, after being sidelined, Cavani remained in Paris, but was prevented from playing in the Champions League in Lisbon during the pandemic, which caused uproar. A few months later, the striker signed for Manchester United.

Back in 2019, Neymar tried to force his departure from PSG. The Brazilian, unhappy with his arrival in Paris, did not show up for pre-season and wanted a transfer to Barcelona right up until the end of the summer market.

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However, Sporting Director Leonardo, as with Cavani, was an immovable object: if Barça did not accept his economic conditions, they would never sell him. And so the two parties worked together until the summer of 2023, when it became impossible to keep the playmaker in the squad any longer: Saudi Arabia stepped in and signed the 31-year-old for €90 million ($97m).

Di María, Messi and Ramos, all three due to PSG’s unwillingness to renew their deals, have been the precursors for Kylian Mbappé. The forward has already informed the club that he is ending his seven-season spell in the French capital, and his upcoming exit will not be lucrative for the club.

However, AS understands that the two parties are negotiating the terms of Mbappé's departure, which could end up with the player handing over a percentage of the signing bonus he receives from his new club or writing off part of his salary so that PSG do not take a huge financial hit. In Paris, almost all the stars have left at the end of their contracts, in a clear Qatari policy to try to keep them as long as possible.