Earlier this week, it was widely reported that Kylian Mbappe has notified Paris Saint-Germain of his intention to leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season, thus opening the door to him joining Real Madrid in the summer.
Mbappe will continue to give his all for PSG in the hopes of ending his time there with that elusive Champions League trophy. He helped them get a little closer to that on Wednesday by scoring in the 2-0 first leg victory over Real Sociedad at the Parc des Princes.
On the back of that match, and also the departure decision being reported, Mbappe was benched for PSG’s Ligue 1 match with Nantes on Saturday evening. Sport pointed out that it could be seen as a “punishment” for the 24-year-old because he is leaving, and for free, in the summer.
🚨🔴🔵 Kylian Mbappé starts on the bench for Paris Saint-Germain tonight.
Five changes for Luis Enrique after the UCL game vs Real Sociedad. pic.twitter.com/VMzVi4bwWb
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 17, 2024
It’s much more likely that PSG head coach Luis Enrique is resting Mbappe so that he can minimise the chance of injury between now and the end of the season, after which Real Madrid are expected to be the Frenchman’s next destination.
