L’Équipe report that France captain Kylian Mbappé is set to leave a significant loyalty bonus on the table at PSG, having reached an arrangement behind the scenes with the club’s management, while his future remains uncertain.
After informing the Paris club in writing that he would not be signing a new deal and intended to leave at the end of his current contract in a year’s time, Mbappé was excluded from the squad by new coach Luis Enrique earlier this summer. With the club aiming to avoid losing perhaps the world’s most valuable player for free, and considering the player’s stance, his return to the PSG first team last month came as a surprise.
While talks over a new deal have not yet begun, according to French media financial assurances have been given by the player revolving around the player waiving a massive loyalty bonus for this year, part of his current PSG contract.
The pay-out is said to be worth between €60m and €80m to the player. However, if this bonus were not paid, it would save the club over €100m in total costs. This was enough to convince PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi that Mbappé should be allowed to return to the team and potentially see out his contract, as such savings would be roughly equivalent to any potential transfer fee PSG might have received for the player this summer with just one year left on his deal.
This understanding is informal, however, and seen as a gentlemen’s agreement between the two men, meaning it is subject to modifications, in theory, should circumstances change again in this longest-running of transfer sagas.
