French Ligue 1
I didn’t ask to be sold to Real Madrid, says Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe said he never asked Paris St Germain to allow him to move to Real Madrid in the close season, confirming that he is happy to play in the French capital next season but will not extend his contract with the Ligue 1 champions.
Mbappe caused a stir when he sent a letter to the club stating that he had no intention to extend his PSG contract, which expires in 2024 if he does not activate the clause that will extend his deal by a further 12 months.
PSG find themselves in a fix as they risk losing Mbappe for free in June 2024. He will also be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a new club from January should he decide to see out the remaining year of his deal at PSG.
“I didn’t ask either to be sold or to go to Real Madrid,” Mbappe told Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I just confirmed that I don’t want to activate the extra year foreseen in the contract. We have never talked about a renewal with PSG, but I’m happy to stay here next season.”
However, if Mbappe stays until the end of the 2023-24 season, the French club will be unable to recoup any of the 180 million euros ($194.45 million) they spent in 2017 to sign the forward from AS Monaco.
Real Madrid have courted Mbappe in the past but failed to land the 24-year-old, who signed a contract extension with PSG in May last year.
However, the Spanish club are rebuilding their team after losing several attacking players, including Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, and could turn their eye to Mbappe who has finished top scorer in Ligue 1 for the last five seasons.
PSG will also want to avoid a complete rebuild of their forward line after losing Lionel Messi on a free transfer when the Argentine World Cup winner opted not to extend his contract at the end of the season.
Messi had been booed and jeered by PSG fans towards the end of the season after their Champions League last-16 exit and Mbappe said the seven-times Ballon d’Or winner did not get the respect he deserved in France.
“We’re talking about potentially the best player in the history of football. It’s never good news when someone like Messi leaves,” Mbappe said.
“Personally, I don’t quite understand why so many people were so relieved that he was gone… It’s a shame, but that’s how it went. We will have to do what we can to replace him.”
–Reuters
Paul Pogba has joined AS Monaco on a free transfer after signing a two-year contract, the Ligue 1 club said on Saturday, as the 32-year-old French midfielder looks to revive his career following a doping ban.
Pogba was handed a four-year doping ban in February 2024 after testing positive for DHEA, which boosts testosterone levels. The suspension was cut to 18 months after a successful appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Italian club Juventus announced in November that they had mutually agreed to terminate his contract, which was due to expire in June 2026.
The 2018 World Cup winner had a disappointing second spell with Juventus due to injuries after returning to the Turin-based club following his departure from Manchester United on a free transfer in 2022.
Pogba was signed by United in 2016 for a then-world record fee of 89 million pounds ($122 million) but the four-times Serie A champion won only two trophies with the Premier League club — the League Cup and Europa League in his first season.
He last played for France in 2022 but knee surgery prevented him from appearing at the World Cup in Qatar.
Monaco finished third behind Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain and Olympique de Marseille last season.
-Reuters
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After Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi signed a contract extension with French Ligue 1 side, Paris Saint-Germain, he became the World’s most-paid fullback.
The Moroccan international will earn a staggering €70 million in wages over his new five-year deal, cementing his status as football’s highest-paid defender.
He signed a contract extension with the French champions until 2029. The new deal adds three years to his previous contract, which was set to expire in 2026.
His net salary is increasing from €10 million to €14 million per season (€28 million gross).
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The 2024 Ballon d’Or nominee and Super Eagles winger, Ademola Lookman, is almost certain to leave the Serie A in the coming winter transfer window following interest from Premiership but the biggest interest is from Paris Saint Germaine.
The AFCON 2024 silver medal winner with Nigeria has been on the radar of the London side, West Ham United and three other sides from the league but all is more certain that the London club will find it difficult to compete for the signature of Atalanta star according to Football Insider.
Reports have suggested that the Irons are ready to swoop for the Nigeria international in the January transfer window.
However, sources say there will be “huge interest” from Europe in the 27-year-old ex-Everton star.
Paris Saint-Germain will be the frontrunner for the forward if he becomes available in the coming months.
Additionally, Lookman plays in the same area of the pitch as West Ham’s big-money summer signings Crysencio Summerville and Luis Guilherme.
The London-born has raised his stock with his displays for Atalanta since joining from RB Leipzig in 2022.
He finished 14th in the Ballon d’Or rankings this year after leading the Italian side to a Europa League title last term.
Lookman has already hit five goals and contributed five assists in 10 games across all competitions this term.
The forward, who is under contract until June 2026, hit 17 goals and notched 10 assists in 45 appearances last season.
West Ham are unlikely to have serious funds to spend in the January window after their lavish spending in the off-season.
Julen Lopetegui’s side started slowly and sat 13th in the Premier League after nine games.
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