How Mbappé's departure from PSG could affect Barcelona next summer

This week fans around the world were shocked by the news of Kylian Mbappé's departure from Paris Saint-Germain. While it had been rumored for months that he would leave the club at the end of this season, many in France held out hope that he would change his mind at the last minute and finally stay, just as he did in 2022.

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But this time it will be different. Reports claim that the striker had a meeting with Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of the club, in which he confirmed that he will neither activate the automatic extension clause until 2025 nor accept the four-season renewal offer. That means he will become a free agent from July 1 and can agree to join any other club in the world. Real Madrid appear to be the favorites to sign him, although there is still no agreement between the parties.

Mbappé's change of club will be the most important soccer news this year, not only because of his quality as a player, but also because of the impact that this will have on other clubs. Paris Saint-Germain will lose their top star and will have to replace him with one or more important players. According to reports, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Manchester City's Bernardo Silva are among those targeted, but there are more.

If the intention of Luis Enrique and the club's chiefs is to hire a winger, one of the options is Rafael Leao. The Portuguese player has excelled in recent seasons at AC Milan and has characteristics that could be useful for PSG. But that would be terrible news for Barcelona, who are also interested in him and do not have enough money to compete with the French side.

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That is not the only problem

In addition to Leao, another player could be a source of conflict between Barcelona and PSG: Gavi. The young midfielder is an obsession for Luis Enrique, who coached him in the Spanish National Team and gave him a prominent place during the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Now he wants to take him to France, but reports indicate that the player prefers to stay at Barcelona.