Paris Saint-Germain have rubbished the notion that they will have to sell one of Neymar or Kylian Mbappe this summer with Real Madrid credited with interest in both players, sources have told ESPN FC.
Since the Ligue 1 giants were dumped out of the Champions League in the last 16 by Manchester United, Real have been linked with both Neymar and Mbappe — something that Los Blancos‘ president Florentino Perez and coach Zinedine Zidane have not denied.
Release clauses are not permitted in France. And sources have told ESPN FC that despite the club not being obliged to sell their under-contract superstars, PSG have received assurances from the two players’ camps that they will not agitate for a move this summer.
Despite this, PSG will have to raise some funds, not only for FFP, but also to cover the shortfall created by exiting the Champions League early once again. Yet sources say the club will look to ship out peripheral members within the squad.
Giovani Lo Celso and Jese Rodriguez are on loan with Real Betis and could be signed permanently, while Grzegorz Krychowiak should make his Lokomotiv Moscow loan switch permanent. Thomas Meunier, Layvin Kurzawa and Christopher Nkunku could also be sold in order to raise more money.
The recent lucrative shirt sponsorship deal with AccorHotels’ Accor Live Limitless Loyalty platform has eased PSG’s financial concerns, while further capital is expected to be raised through new commercial deals and renewed partnerships between now and the end of the season.
Following their exit from the Champions League at the hands of Manchester United, Mbappe said that it had been decided well before the United tie that he would be in the French capital past this summer.
Neymar, who has recently returned to Paris after stints in Brazil and Qatar recovering from a second fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot in as many years, has announced that he will be returning to training this week and expects to be back with his teammates by the end of the international break.
He also said recently that he “only has eyes for PSG” in an interview with Globo Esporte.
Information from ESPN FC’s Julien Laurens and Jonathan Johnson was used in this report.