Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and Marco Verratti have been left out of the Paris Saint-Germain squad for Saturday’s season-opening home match against Lorient, with the trio’s future at the club uncertain.
Relations between Mbappé and the Ligue 1 champions have been tense since the forward said he would not renew his contract which expires at the end of the 2023-24 season.
The France international was also left out of PSG’s squad for their preseason tour last month.
Mbappé is among a number of players tipped to leave the Parc des Princes in the transfer window, which closes on Sept. 1, with French media reporting that record signing Neymar and midfielder Verratti are also surplus to requirements.
PSG said earlier this week that Neymar was suffering from a viral infection.
Head coach Luis Enrique said on Friday he hopes the club can find a solution to their ongoing dispute with Mbappé.
Relations between Mbappé and PSG have been tense since the French forward said he would not renew his contract, which expires at the end of the 2023-24 season.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has said they will not let him go on a free transfer after the club spent €180 million ($197.9m) to sign him in 2017, with the forward reportedly having been frozen out of the Ligue 1 champions’ main squad.
Meanwhile, PSG announced the signing of Ousmane Dembélé from Barcelona earlier on Saturday.
The French club’s initial plan was to pay the €50 million ($54.9m) in the player’s buyout clause that expired at the end of July. Dembélé rejected that proposal and urged the clubs to negotiate an agreement that would satisfy all parties. However, the final fee is is expected to remain around €50m, ESPN reported on Wednesday.
