PARIS (AP) 鈥 Kylian Mbapp茅 finds himself in the unique position of training alone at home while his Paris Saint-Germain teammates are playing abroad.
Speculation is mounting as to where Mbapp茅 will play his first game of the season. Will he stay at PSG, go to Real Madrid or fly far away to Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal?
While soccer fans in Japan are disappointed not to see the superstar after of the club's pre-season tour, PSG fans may have to brace themselves for a similar scenario when the French champions open their league campaign .
The 24-year-old Mbapp茅 is locked in a contract standoff and neither side seems prepared to give ground.
PSG is finally standing up to one of its big-name stars 鈥 after years of pandering to the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Neymar 鈥 while Mbapp茅 is determined to do things on his own terms.
Mbapp茅 has already told the club on his contract, which expires at the end of next June. He has until Monday to change his mind and sign the extension, but that looks increasingly impossible.
Mbapp茅 has already made it clear he intends to play only this season with the French champions, and then leave. That means he could join long-time suitor Real Madrid for free. With no transfer fee involved, Madrid can offer him a lucrative signing bonus and a massive salary.
PSG is having none of it, and says the top scorer at last year's World Cup will either sign the current extension offer in place, sign a new contract altogether, or prepare to be sold.
That has opened the door for Saudi team Al-Hilal to make 鈥 a huge amount under any circumstances, but even more so for a player in the final year of his contract. By comparison, Madrid offered 180 million euros ($200 million) for the striker .
But money is seemingly no object in the oil-rich kingdom and the promise of inflated wages means from Europe. Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly earns up to $200 million a year, despite being close to 40 years old, while the Saudi-funded LIV Golf tour has shaken up professional golf and the country hosts a glitzy Formula One race.
The moves are part of efforts by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to leverage the kingdom鈥檚 oil wealth to provide new jobs and opportunities at home. However, critics have dismissed the efforts as 鈥渟portswashing,鈥 attempting to leverage professional sports to clean up the kingdom鈥檚
Al-Hilal failed to sign Lionel Messi. The Argentina great instead , so the Riyad-based club has turned its attentions to Mbapp茅.
It seems unlikely, however, that Mbapp茅 will be lured just yet. Unlike Ronaldo or Messi, he has never won the Champions League, let alone the Ballon d'Or 鈥 Ronaldo and Messi have won 12 Ballon d'Or trophies and nine Champions League titles between them.
Mbapp茅 became only the second player in history to score a in a World Cup final last year in Qatar, and he seems to have unfinished business at the highest level of European soccer. So that makes Madrid the favorite to sign him.
He would join the most decorated club at European level with 14 European Cup titles, and fans would see him as an ideal replacement for .
PSG could try pressuring Mbapp茅 to sign a new contract by leaving him out of the team when the season starts. But given that PSG only won the league last season, that appears to be a risky strategy and might displease fans. It would also create a potentially toxic atmosphere for new .
While Mbapp茅 waits for his teammates to return, he works out alone at the training complex in the quiet suburb of Poissy.
The noise surrounding his transfer will keep getting louder, however, until a final decision is made.
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