PSG determined to keep wantaway forward despite brewing feud

Paris Saint-Germain is determined to hold on to star forward Kylian Mbappe, even if the latter has refused to sign a new deal with the club. The Frenchman is reportedly interested in a move this summer, but the club still wants to keep him and risk losing him on a free transfer at the end of the coming season.

According to Marca, Mappe has already made it clear to PSG authorities that he does not plan to sign a contract extension. The news came following France's exit from the European Championship, where Mbappe failed to shine for his national team. During the tournament, he told reporters that his future will be decided once the competition ends, and now it appears as though he made good on that promise.

Paris Saint-Germain may be left with no choice but to let Mbappe run down his contract until 2022, in order to prevent him from making a move presumably to Real Madrid in the coming weeks. PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has publicly claimed that the player is not for sale, and that they are not open to listening to any offers. The club is not exactly scrambling for cash, so they may actually opt to let the contract run down instead of cashing in now.

Meanwhile, Al-Khelaifi's counterpart in Madrid, Florentino Perez, has had a long-standing interest in the 22-year-old French forward. However, he has not confirmed that an offer has officially been made this summer. Real Madrid is reportedly also interested in Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland, and it remains to e seen how the saga plays out.

Perez may also be downplaying his interest in the Frenchman in order to avoid stirring any conflict with PSG. The two rival clubs have enjoyed a relationship of mutual respect, and any underhanded moves in relation to Mbappe's transfer will affect the two clubs' relationship moving forward.

Al-Khelaifi's priority is to convince Mbappe to stay, but if the player chooses to leave even after he flexes the club's financial might among other things, he may be left with no choice but to sanction the sale. PSG may opt for another deterrent, which is to post a remarkable asking price.

Real Madrid does not want to splash the cash, owing to the pandemic and the renovation of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. However, they have had a conservative year when it comes to transfer spending, so they might just be able to cough up the funds.