Kylian Mbappe And Lionel Messi Exits Could Be What Paris Saint-Germain Needs

As he gazed down from his seat in the Lusail Stadium during the World Cup final, Paris Saint-Germain club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi could be forgiven for wearing a wry smile.

His nation Qatar might have crashed out humiliatingly in the group stage, but for the biggest game of the whole competition, it was two of his PSG stars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe who stole the show.

Al-Khelaifi knows that while they might have belonged to Argentina and France that night for the rest of the season they’ll wear the shirt of a Qatari-owned team.

“I’m proud of my players, I can’t be any more proud than I am now,” Al-Khelaifi said in the aftermath.

There was good reason for these feelings, the pair were instrumental in what was almost certainly the greatest final of all time, ensuring the tournament into the history books is well represented in the annuls of history for sporting reasons.

At certain stages of the World Cup, it looked like it that might not happen. The controversies which have overshadowed the competition, from a western media perspective at least, whether it was Qatar’s stance on homosexuality or its treatment of migrant workers issues beyond soccer came up repeatedly.

However, at its conclusion, Al-Khelaifi, who is also a member of the organizing committee for the tournament, described the event as “perfect.”

Not that the PSG boss will have time to enjoy overseeing what he viewed as “the best World Cup ever.”

This is because Paris Saint-Germain’s two biggest stars both return to the club with uncertain futures.

Messi, admittedly in the twilight of his career, has six months remaining on his two-year contract. There have been strong rumors linking him with a move to Major League Soccer at Inter Miami when he leaves Paris.

From January 1 2023 he will be permitted to speak to interested parties, so it is no surprise, with the diminutive Argentine’s brand value as high as it’s ever been, that PSG is trying to keep him in the French capital that bit longer.

“After the World Cup we going to start that discussion,” Al-Khelaifi said in an interview after Qatar 2022.

“We [will] see what’s the best for both. But definitely if [there is] mutual interest and we want him to stay and he wants to stay, then he will stay. If one of us doesn’t want, then he will move on.”

“I’m so proud of him, what he has done with our club, what he gives to the club and he’s so happy at the club.”

Mbappe problems

Even more problematic than the situation with Messi is that of the young pretender to his long-held title of the best player in the world: Kylian Mbappe.

The French prodigy was widely expected to leave for Real Madrid last summer, but, in a move that shocked the world of soccer, he decided to remain in Paris.

At the time, his words were pretty definitive “I am convinced that here I can continue to grow within a club that gives itself all the means to perform at the highest level,” he said.

However, just months after he’d committed to a three-year contract reports emerged that he was unhappy and seeking a move away.

It took everyone by surprise and cast a substantial shadow over Paris Saint-Germain’s season.

His words while with France have hardly remedied the situation. “For now, a second World Cup. After that, I don’t know,” he said.

Real Madrid’s desire to have the Frenchman don its white jersey is no secret and the talk is that another move for him is on the cards.

The boss of its league Javier Tebas is so confident he’s even setting timelines.

“I think Mbappe will also play in our league at some point, be it now or next season. That will depend on what money he wants to ask for, of course,” the Liga Liga president was quoted as saying.

Al-Khelaifi has hit back at reports the Frenchman wants to leave.

“Can you see him? He is happy, he is. I mean, he’s scoring goals and very competitive, very professional. So he’s French and originally from Paris, so he’s Parisian,” was his response to questions about Mbappe’s future.

The good of the team

Handling the egos of two of the biggest stars in the game is hard enough, but Paris Saint-Germain has the additional headache of a third megastar; Neymar Jr.

Despite his reputation as one of the greatest players to play the game, Messi is not renowned for clashing with teammates and in Paris the friction has been between Mbappe and the Brazilian.

The latest of these was in August when Neymar fuelled speculation about a conflict with his teammate by liking a couple of posts on social media that were critical of Mbappe.

At times, it felt like the World Cup was on the minds of Messi and Neymar, coming as it did midseason rather than in its usual summer slot.

PSG’s form was patchy and a second-place finish in its Champions League group has resulted in a difficult round-of-16 tie with Bayern Munich.

Were the Parisians to crash out of the competition it would only fuel further speculation about the futures of its most famous names.

If Mbappe was as unhappy as reports in October suggested then a damaging final six months of the season, especially if he clashes with Neymar arriving as he does with significant disappointments of his own.

After their astonishing performances in the World Cup final, it feels ludicrous to suggest that for PSG to progress both Mbappe and Messi’s departures might be a good thing.

But since the incredibly talented duo has linked up with Neymar, the story has been painfully familiar, strong performances domestically, followed by weak Champions League exits when the standard was raised.

For all their talents, against the best opposition, the trio’s lack of application for the hard-running and defensive actions has cost PSG.

The club has not only lost to more cohesive opponents and the disciplinary meltdowns which occasionally followed these collapses do little to dispel theories that dressing room harmony is adversely affected by the number of large egos.

Shedding two megastars might weaken the Paris Saint-Germain brand, but it will probably make them a better team.

The question is; are Al-Khelaifi and the owners in Qatar willing to make that sacrifice?