Kylian Mbappé is in talks to extend his contract with Paris Saint-Germain and the club are now confident he is staying, sources told ESPN.
Mbappé was reinstated to the PSG first-team squad on Sunday following a prolonged standoff with the club that saw him miss the preseason tour of Asia and the opening fixture of the Ligue 1 campaign, a goalless draw with Lorient.
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Sources told ESPN that following positive talks on Saturday, Mbappé committed himself to PSG and promised not to leave on a free transfer when his contract ends next year. Club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi told the squad of Mbappé’s commitment.
The France captain was punished and dropped for refusing to renew his contract. PSG also transfer-listed him and were listening to offers for the 2018 World Cup winner.
Mbappé, Ligue 1’s top scorer in the past five seasons, had been training with other PSG players available for transfer, including Georginio Wijnaldum, Julian Draxler and Leandro Paredes. He had refused all offers put to him by the club and was determined to run down his contract before departing as a free agent prior to this latest U-turn.
A similar saga played out last summer before it was announced that Mbappé had signed a new three-year deal. However, it later came to light that it was a two-year contract with a third year eligible only if Mbappé activated it.
Before the Lorient game, manager Luis Enrique said he hoped PSG could find a resolution to the dispute with Mbappé, noting that the club had experience in resolving contract issues with the forward.
PSG return to Ligue 1 action against Toulouse on Saturday.
Julien Laurens
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