French football expert Jonathan Johnson also says Edinson Cavani and Thiago Silva are set to leave PSG and offers an update on the futures of Memphis Depay, Moussa Dembele and Dimitri Payet
Tuesday 9 June 2020 09:14, UK
Paris Saint-Germain are set to offer Kylian Mbappe a contract similar to Neymar in order to convince the striker to snub interest from Real Madrid, according to French football journalist Jonathan Johnson.
Real have made no secret of their long-term interest in Mbappe with club president Florentino Perez previously admitting that he would like to see the French World Cup winner work under their boss Zinedine Zidane.
Zidane, who Mbappe regards as his footballing hero, said last year that he was "in love" with the former Monaco forward but the 21-year-old has previously stated his desire to win the Champions League with PSG.
In an exclusive interview, French football journalist Jonathan Johnson said the Ligue 1 champions will now offer Mbappe a fresh lucrative contract - like Neymar - in order to convince him to stay.
Neymar is currently on an annual salary of £26.8m after tax, equating to £515,000 per week, £73,571 per day, £3,065 per hour and £51 per minute, making him one of the highest paid footballers in the world.
"The situation with Mbappe was always that he wanted to wait and see how this season played out, notably in the Champions League, to see if progress was made," Johnson told Transfer Talk.
"Progress has been made in that PSG have returned to the quarter-finals, but the problem is that PSG don't know if they're able to go any further at the moment because Champions League action hasn't resumed.
"PSG have already made it very clear to him that they want to offer him the same sort of financial terms that somebody like Neymar enjoys, in light of the fact that Mbappe has become one of the real stars of the club.
PSG have already made it very clear to him that they want to offer him the same sort of financial terms that somebody like Neymar enjoys, in light of the fact that Mbappe has become one of the real stars of the club.
"PSG are willing to move everything to keep Mbappe. But until the Champions League comes to its end and we know exactly where the club has finished, I don't think we'll see any major progress there.
"PSG are aware of the fact that his contract is running into its final two years and want to tie that up as quickly as possible. His people appreciate that, but also want to be totally sure that he wants to commit his future to PSG."
After PSG confirmed the signing of striker Mauro Icardi on a permanent deal from Inter Milan, Johnson feels that Edinson Cavani will be one of four players leaving the Parc des Princes this summer, along with Thiago Silva.
"The decision on Icardi had to be made at the end of May, so PSG were put under a bit of pressure," Johnson explained. "Now the situation for PSG is: what do they do with some of the players who are out of contract?
"If those players move on, that creates a lot more breathing space for them in terms of the wage bill to bring in new recruits. They've been looking at strengthening in both full-back positions.
"Thomas Meunier is set to move on - his contract is coming to an end. Laywin Kurzawa as well. Then you've got the captain, Thiago Silva, and you've got Edinson Cavani.
"At this moment in time, it looks likely those four players will leave PSG. There have been tentative talks about renewing one or two of them, but it would require those players taking a significant pay cut, and that's not something necessarily the players would be willing to do.
"There are players that PSG have been looking at for the last couple of months. Alex Telles of Porto is one of those players. They're also very keen on Milinkovic-Savic of Lazio, and Adam Marusic as well."
Former Manchester United forward Memphis Depay and ex-Celtic striker Moussa Dembele, who play together at Lyon, have both been linked with summer transfers.
Johnson says Depay could "walk away for nothing" while he stalls over a new Lyon contract, but Dembele could be set to stay in France after suitors Chelsea agreed a deal to sign Timo Werner from RB Leipzig instead.
"There are a lot of players at Lyon who are in demand at the moment and Lyon will have to sell," Johnson said. "Up until the recent news about Werner going to Chelsea, I would say there was a strong possibility of Dembele moving on.
"However, with one very obvious suitor seemingly out of the race, it's going to be interesting to see who comes in for Dembele. With regards to Memphis, he's now into the final 12 months of contract.
"There have been attempts to extend that contract by Lyon - they've been rebuffed by Memphis.
"It's a situation for Lyon where they're going to have to consider whether they try and cash in now, or try to convince him his future is at the club but knowing there is a significant risk that he walks away for nothing."
Marseille were enjoying a successful season until the 2019-20 campaign was frozen due to the coronavirus pandemic, sitting in second after 28 games under the leadership of former Chelsea and Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas.
Johnson explained how the French club may be forced to sell some of their top assets, including former West Ham midfielder Dimitri Payet, due to financial concerns.
"Villas-Boas will want to keep hold of his best players, but there will be a pressure to sell," he added.
"Marseille have appointed somebody within the club who's looking towards the Premier League to try and find buyers, which would alleviate OM's economic issues. It all depends on the bid.
"I don't think there will be many players in the squad who would be deemed indispensable and unavailable for sale. Potentially Dimitri Payet, given the form that he was in, would be somebody Marseille would be loathed to sell.
"They already had Financial Fair Play issues with UEFA before this, so it's a very complicated period for Marseille."
