Exclusive: French football expert responds to talk of Mbappe bust-up with PSG president

French football expert Jonathan Johnson has spoken exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column to discuss the situation surrounding Kylian Mbappe and his imminent departure from Paris Saint-Germain.

Johnson acknowledged that there has been some talk of a bust-up between Mbappe and PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and it seems things haven’t perhaps ended as amicably between the player and the club as some might have hoped.

Mbappe is coming towards the end of his contract at the Parc des Princes and it seems his announcement video confirming his exit came as a bit of a surprise, as it was released very quickly after the club’s defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

At the same time, however, Johnson says there’s some feeling of relief from all parties that this saga is almost over and there can finally be more clarity about the future.

Mbappe’s PSG exit not the happiest, admits Johnson

“There have been murmurings of a bit of a bust-up between Kylian Mbappe and PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi as he prepares to leave the club. The feeling around Mbappe’s camp is obviously one of disappointment after what happened in the Champions League, and maybe a bit of frustration that the mission that he set himself is not quite complete,” Johnson said.

“Still, in terms of the communication on Mbappe’s future, there’s been a bit of a divergence from how the player and the club have gone about things. PSG had quite a strict plan in place for how things were going to happen and to be communicated, and they feel this hasn’t always been respected.

“Rumours of a bust-up between Mbappe and Al-Khelaifi have been shot down quite quickly by PSG, so we’ll see, with one game left in the Coupe de France final, what kind of role Mbappe will p[ay, but the feeling is certainly that it’s not ending in as friendly or as positive a way as it could have.

“Equally, there was an inevitability of this relationship coming to an end and maybe people were a bit surprised at how quickly Mbappe’s farewell video came out after losing the Champions League semi-final to Borussia Dortmund, but at the same time no one was under any illusions that that was what was going to happen, so there was no point in not communicating about it once the one main remaining objective for PSG’s season was taken out of reach.

“I think there’s also a sense of relief that there’s finally some clarity and that everyone can move forward, and that’s not just from PSG and Mbappe but also from Ligue 1, which until this moment in time remains without a signed, sealed and delivered TV rights deal starting next season, so there’s lots to work towards in the next couple of weeks for all parties.”