Kylian Mbappe returns to form an all-time great left back line with Lee Kang-In. PSG will look for their first win of the season in the second leg.
French media outlet Le Parisien has released its predicted PSG lineup for the 2023/24 Ligue 1 second-leg tie against Toulouse at the Stade de Toulouse in Toulouse, France, which kicks off at 4:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, October 19.
PSG played Lorient to a goalless 0-0 draw in the opening round of the league on April 18 at the Parc des Princes. PSG started with Lee Kang-In, Gonzalo Higuain, and Marco Asensio up front, but they failed to find the back of the net as they looked out of sync.
The absence of Mbappe, who has been the club’s top scorer for five consecutive seasons since 2018/19, was sorely felt. In 2022/23, he again proved to be one of the best strikers in Ligue 1, scoring 29 goals in 34 games.
However, Mbappe has been embroiled in a contract dispute with PSG. Mbappe has now been linked to Real for three years. He has been on Real’s radar since 2021. At the time, Real offered him a record transfer fee of €180 million ($259.1 million), but the deal fell through after PSG ignored the offer.
PSG then rebuffed Real’s interest again, and Mbappe was forced to change his mind when President Emmanuel Macron called him and asked him to stay in Paris.
Mbappe subsequently re-signed with PSG last May until the summer of 2025. Among other things, it gave him the right to make decisions in virtually every exercise of the club’s rights and seemed to make him part of the club’s project.
However, in June, Mbappe informed the club in writing of his intention to opt out of the extension, revealing that the contract he signed a year earlier was a 2+1 year deal rather than a three-year deal. This means that his base contract runs through the summer of 2024, rather than the summer of 2025.
PSG were shocked by Mbappe’s notification and made a renewal offer, which was rejected. This summer is the only time PSG can sell Mbappe for a transfer fee.
First, PSG offered Mbappe a one-year extension on June 6, extending his contract to the summer of 2025. This was coupled with a guaranteed buyout clause in the summer of 2024 that would allow him to leave. However, Mbappe rejected the offer.
PSG signed Mbappe on a season-long loan from AS Monaco in the summer of 2017 before making the move permanent. A year later, they signed Mbappe outright for a transfer fee of €180 million. It’s the second-highest transfer fee of all time, behind only the €220 million ($319.2 billion) that Barcelona paid for Neymar in the summer of 2017.
Mbappe has brought a lot to PSG, but if he doesn’t bring in transfer revenue, it’s a major blow to the club. When a €180 million offer from Real came in three years ago, PSG envisioned a longer future with Mbappe and pulled a “read-through” to send Real packing.
However, with the end of PSG’s relationship with Mbappe in sight, a better picture is emerging for Real. The relationship between club and player took a turn for the worst when Mbappe gave notice of his unconditional release clause.
President Al Khelaifi banned Mbappe from first-team training and kept him out of the opening game against Lorient. Mbappe watched the game from the stands with recent signing Ousmane Dembele.
As the confrontation escalated, Mbappe abruptly returned to training. According to French media outlets, Mbappe’s return to training took some effort on the part of the club and persuasion from Luis Enrique.
French media outlets recently reported that “Mbappe, who has been sanctioned by PSG for the past few weeks, did not even play in the league opener, but relations between the two parties have been moving towards reconciliation in recent hours. PSG is trying to turn the situation around in any case,” adding that PSG took the initiative to reconcile.
As for Enrique, he tried to convince Mbappe to return internally. “Initially, Enrique publicly stated that he supported the management’s decision, but he nevertheless pushed internally for Mbappe’s return to the first team,” said French outlet L’Equipe. From the sidelines, Enrique strongly expressed the fact that he could provide more solutions for Mbappe and provide the forward pressure that PSG lacked against Lorient. “I have high hopes for Mbappe and Dembele,” he said of Enrique’s efforts.
In addition, PSG reportedly went to great lengths to bring Mbappe back, including selling Neymar, who was at odds with him.
In the meantime, it has been reported that Real have been influential in Mbappe’s decision to return to the club.
As the conflict escalated, Mbappe abruptly returned to training. According to French media outlets, Mbappe’s return was a result of the club’s efforts and Luis Enrique’s persuasion.
French media outlets recently reported that “Mbappe, who has been sanctioned by PSG for the past few weeks, did not even play in the league opener, but relations between the two parties have been moving towards reconciliation in recent hours. PSG is trying to turn the situation around in any case,” adding that PSG took the initiative to reconcile.
As for Enrique, he tried to convince Mbappe to return internally. “Initially, Enrique publicly stated that he supported the management’s decision, but he nevertheless pushed internally for Mbappe’s return to the first team,” said French outlet L’Equipe. From the sidelines, Enrique strongly expressed the fact that he could provide more solutions for Mbappe and provide the forward pressure that PSG lacked against Lorient. “I have high hopes for Mbappe and Dembele,” he said of Enrique’s efforts.
In addition, PSG reportedly went to great lengths to bring Mbappe back, including selling Neymar, who was at odds with him.
In the meantime, it has been reported that Real have been influential in Mbappe’s decision to return to the club.
“Mbappe is disappointed with Real’s attitude this summer,” Marca reported on Sunday.
“According to reports, Mbappe is disappointed with Real. This could be one of the reasons why Mbappe has returned to PSG once again. Mbappe was unhappy with the little gestures that Real had made in recent weeks when making an offer to PSG for his signature,” adding that Mbappe was disappointed that Real would not make a proper offer to PSG.
Indeed, it was reported that Real had no intention of matching PSG’s asking price and were not planning to spend more than €200 million on the player, including wages, as they knew he would be a free agent after the 2023/24 season. Real have been slow to make a move for Mbappe this summer, with reports even suggesting that they could target him in the winter transfer window.
“Everything suggests that Mbappe could sign for Real next summer, but nevertheless, the reality this summer is that Mbappe seems to have given up on signing for Real,” the outlet said, adding that in effect, Mbappe seems to have rejected a move to Real this summer.
However, Marca emphasized that it is clear that Mbappe will move to Real next summer. “Mbappe has said that he only wants to sign for Real in 2024,” the publication said. According to El Chiringito journalist Edu Aguirre, Mbappe has told people close to him that he will only play for Real next summer,” adding that Mbappe is not giving up on Real. 카지노
Meanwhile, with Mbappe’s arrival, Lee Kang-in is expected to move to a central attacking midfield role (mezzalla) from the flanks against Toulouse. He will form a midfield alongside Manuel Ugarte and Yaya Toure-Emericka, according to Le Parisien.
On the left, the trio of Mbappe, Kang-In and Luca Hernandez are expected to form a formidable attacking force. On the right, Ousmane Dembele-Emerick Aubameyang-Ashraf Hakimi will be just as destructive as the left.