MX23RW : Saturday, April 20 08:11:45| >> :120:4907:4907:

PSG president fires back at La Liga chief over Kylian Mbappe comments

PSG president fires back at La Liga chief over Mbappe comments
© Reuters
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi hits back at comments from La Liga chief Javier Tebas over Kylian Mbappe's new deal being an "insult to football".

Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has fired back at scathing comments from La Liga president Javier Tebas over Kylian Mbappe's new contract at the club.

The striker was widely expected to join Real Madrid on a free transfer as he continued to run down the final few weeks of his previous contract with the French champions.

However, Mbappe stunned the footballing landscape by agreeing to a new three-year deal at the Parc des Princes, tying him to Les Parisiens until the end of the 2024-25 season.

La Liga labelled Mbappe's lucrative new deal - believed to be worth €40m (£34m) per year "scandalous" - while president Tebas described it as an "insult to football".

The Spanish division also announced its intention to formally complain to UEFA about Mbappe's new contract, claiming that PSG had "no respect" for the game.

Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe pictured on April 20, 2022 © Reuters

"LaLiga wishes to state that this type of agreement attacks the economic stability of European football, putting at risk hundreds of thousands of jobs and the integrity of the sport, not only in European competitions, but also in domestic leagues," the statement read.

"LaLiga will file a complaint against PSG before UEFA, the French administrative and fiscal authorities and European Union authorities to continue to defend the economic ecosystem of European football and its sustainability.

"This behaviour demonstrates once more that state owned clubs do not respect and do not want to respect the rules of a sector as important as football. These rules are key to protect and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs.

"This kind of behaviour led by Al-Khelaifi, president of PSG, and member of the UEFA Executive Committee and president of ECA, endangers European football on the same level as the European Super League."

Al-Khelaifi and Mbappe held their first press conference since the latter's contract signing on Monday afternoon, and the former believes that Tebas is concerned about the threat of Ligue 1 becoming a more attractive competition than La Liga.

Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring against Real Madrid on March 9, 2022© Reuters

"I think he (Tebas) is maybe scared of Ligue 1 becoming bigger than La Liga. That's a good thing for us. It is a positive for us as a club," Al-Khelaifi told reporters.

"La Liga isn't what it was three or four years ago. We have a lot of respect for all of the clubs in La Liga as well as for the championship, but we need to be respected as well. We have Mbappe, he stays with us and the rest, honestly I don't care."

The PSG president also confirmed that the club would be active in the summer transfer market following Mbappe's renewal, and the 23-year-old revealed that he had held talks with French president Emmanuel Macron, who helped persuade him to stay put.

Mbappe celebrated his new contract by bagging a hat-trick in Saturday's 5-0 thrashing of Metz, seeing him end the Ligue 1 season top of the goals and assists charts with 28 strikes and 17 assists.

The former Monaco starlet has now amassed a total of 171 goals and 87 assists in 217 games for Mauricio Pochettino's side since initially arriving on loan in the summer of 2017.

ID:486539:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect5042:

Kylian Mbappe future - Click here for more stories

Click here for more stories about Javier Tebas

Click here for more stories about Real Madrid

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane pictured on February 14, 2021
Read Next:
Zinedine Zidane 'not interested in becoming PSG head coach'
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid31246167204778
2Barcelona31217362342870
3GironaGirona31205663392465
4Atletico MadridAtletico31194859362361
5Athletic Bilbao321610652302258
6Real Sociedad311311745331250
7Valencia31138103432247
8Real BetisBetis31111283837145
9Villarreal31109124954-539
10Getafe31912103743-639
11Osasuna31116143644-839
12Las PalmasLas Palmas31107142935-637
13Sevilla31810133944-534
14AlavesAlaves3188152638-1232
15Mallorca31613122536-1131
16Rayo Vallecano31613122538-1331
17Celta Vigo31610153346-1328
18CadizCadiz31413142141-2025
19Granada3239203361-2818
20Almeria31111193062-3214


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!