Kylian Mbappe, a PSG marketing video that upset him and what we know about his future

 From the outside, it seemed like just another promotional movie sent to Paris Saint-Germain season ticket holders to persuade them to extend their subscriptions.

Then, on Thursday, Kylian Mbappe posted an Instagram story to his 102 million followers expressing his displeasure with the situation.

Mbappe added, "I recently attended the club's renewal campaign screening for the 23/24 season. "At no point was the content of the interview with my interviewer disclosed to me.

It appeared to be a straightforward interview during a club marketing day. I disagree with this posted video.

"I defend the freedom to use one's own image because of this. PSG is a huge organization with a sizable family, but it's clearly not Kylian Saint-Germain.

Mbappe has used social media to express his annoyance in the past.

After a 0-0 Ligue 1 draw with Reims in October, Mbappe subtly expressed his perceived discontentment with being used as the central striker in an Instagram story. #pivotgang was the hashtag he used. The setting was that a month before when serving abroad, he had told the media that he liked the tactical setup with France. "The coach understands there is a No. 9 like Olivier (Giroud) who occupies the defenses, so I have a lot more flexibility here. I can move around, go into space, and ask for the ball. In Paris, things are different; instead, I'm urged to pivot.

The impending sense of catastrophe that is engulfing PSG has only grown as a result of the intervention. The pressure on manager Christophe Galtier has increased as a result of back-to-back league losses, and Lionel Messi's future is the subject of its own soap drama. Club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi arrived in Paris on Friday to observe practice and speak with the players in person.

Mbappe's remarks this week generated controversy, but they are significant given the circumstances. The truth is that this most recent incident plays on his own future sensitivities as well as the direction of PSG.

Only Mbappe, a senior member of the first team, is featured in the short clip. This partially explains the 'Kylian Saint-Germain' comment and is related to scheduling conflicts for interviews with training during the last week.

But the fact that he was able to express his criticism publicly and individually before the issue was settled internally also demonstrated what he saw to be his current status at PSG. PSG insiders stated that on Thursday afternoon a call was placed to the player's entourage to clarify the issue and clear up any misunderstandings. They also acknowledged that there was an internal approval problem with video content for club season ticket holders.

Another interesting detail that has its own backstory is Mbappe's mention of his image rights. With the France national team last year, he oversaw a boycott of certain commercial endeavors by athletes who didn't want to be affiliated with certain industries, like fast food restaurants and gambling websites. He later declined to participate in a photo session with France in September until the France Football Federation altered the image rights agreement with their players. 

However, it's important to note that his discussions with Real Madrid last summer revolved primarily over image rights. Mbappe's entourage reported at the time, under the condition of anonymity to safeguard their relationships, that Real was prepared to give Mbappe full control over his image rights, whilst PSG was not. This was unheard of. Ironically, PSG had a strong sense from the conversations around Mbappe's contract renewal with the Parisian club last season that he wanted to be more prominent in the team's commercial activity.

Therefore, positioning and contract negotiations might both be easily viewed from this perspective. The speculations surrounding his future have received a lot of attention thanks to a straightforward Instagram tale.

Mbappe may not like the idea of "Kylian Saint-Germain," but he is coming to be recognized as the star of a squad that is loaded with talent. He is a national hero as well as a PSG icon; he is a world-class player who is currently donning the captain's uniform. He became PSG's all-time greatest scorer at the young age of 24 last month, which may have been the most significant month of his career. Additionally, Didier Deschamps named him captain of the France national team.

All of this makes him the best asset for PSG, the kind you would really want to develop around and highlight for ticket sales. His future will always be a source of preoccupation, and this summer will undoubtedly be no different, as shown by the fears sparked by this most recent drama. The question of whether he would sign a new contract in the French capital or become a free agent in the summer was widely debated at this time last year.

Even though he signed the document, the agreement nonetheless created a turning point for the season's finale. In Paris and others, attention is beginning to focus on a deadline that will arrive in less than two months. The one-year option to extend Mbappe's contract until the summer of 2025 must be exercised before June 30 and only Mbappe has the authority to do so. Mbappe's deal is now set to expire in the summer of 2024. 

This means that his future will receive more attention, and any criticism he receives for appearing in a fan-promotional video for the upcoming season will unavoidably be placed in that perspective. 

thus, the crucial query. He will either remain with PSG or leave.

Over the past three weeks, The Athletic has spoken with a variety of sources with ties to the player and the club to analyze the situation and determine the best course of action. A lot still needs to be resolved, as this week's events have demonstrated.

The team that comes closest to Mbappe's "hometown" team is PSG. He was transferred from Monaco to PSG in 2017 and was born and raised in Bondy, a neighborhood in the northeastern part of Paris.

Le Parisien reported in October that if his contract was extended for a third year, it would be worth €630 million (£ 551 million; $687 million) before taxes. He was named the highest-paid athlete in the world of sports last week by L'Equipe.

Mbappe enjoys enormous fame in Paris. Since re-signing, he has had influence over the team as well; his renewal discussions last year included the choice to name Luis Campos as sporting director. The footballer even considered moving to Paris with Aurelien Tchouameni and Robert Lewandowski while assisting in the identification of targets like them. He is given a prestige that he is hard to find elsewhere thanks to this influence and a pay package that matches his place in the global game.

The extra year in Mbappe's contract was supposed to start earlier this year, and there was general optimism at PSG that he would do so, but his camp is rumored to have been uncertain about his next moves.

Multiple sources reported that Mbappe had shown his support for the PSG idea more enthusiastically than ever before the recent Champions League last-16 match with Bayern Munich. His future has not felt as certain after that match, which resulted in a 3-0 aggregate loss for the French club.

Many things have not gone as planned.

Mbappe was not interested in any of the three players named, and he was previously believed to be dissatisfied with the club's hiring practices. Skriniar will join PSG from Inter Milan this summer as a free agent. According to some accounts, he felt duped and the promised PSG project had not materialized; Campos is also alleged to have shared this opinion. The club's Portuguese sports director believed that after his arrival last summer, he was unable to sign the desired players because other players had not been sold to make the incoming agreements financially viable.

The squad makeup of the project for the upcoming season will undoubtedly be a key factor in any decisions made in the future.

Those close to Mbappe know the club would want a hefty price for him, or they may opt not to set a price at all, which would make a move this summer nearly difficult. 

Of course, the market for him is the other factor.

Realistically, only a small number of teams could afford him, and surprise, surprise, Real Madrid is at the top of that list.

The current Spanish, European, and world champions, who have had touch with Mbappe's camp more than once this season, are aware of his wishes and that he has expressed a desire to play for Madrid at some point, but they have not forgotten what happened last summer. Mbappe's decision to re-sign with PSG left Florentino Perez, president of Real Madrid, feeling deceived, and that could have an impact on the contract he might receive in the future. Nevertheless, nothing can be ruled out while there is hesitation.

difficult to reach the Champions League.

Manchester United is an option, but with Marcus Rashford in outstanding form, they do not currently require a player in his preferred position off the left side of the attack. Liverpool was a prospective destination for Mbappe when he was considering leaving PSG last July, but given Liverpool's financial struggles and their inability to qualify for the Champions League, it seems unfeasible now.

PSG are at a crossroads as they attempt to align a strategy that has emphasized bringing in top-tier individual talent while also assembling a group capable of winning in Europe. There are other contracts available for Mbappe, and his choice could have an impact on them as well.

Along with Messi's contract, which will expire in June at the age of 35, Sergio Ramos' contract will also be up after turning 37 last week. Additionally, Presnel Kimpembe and Marquinhos' contracts will expire after the current season. There appears to be little likelihood that Neymar, who is currently 31 years old, will leave his contract, which runs through 2027.

Late last month, club president Al-Khelaifi stated that the club hoped to arrange extensions for Messi and Ramos, but the financial incentives may be restricted. PSG must control their pay bill in order to satisfy UEFA standards established after they violated a breakeven agreement between 2018 and 2022, which is one of the financial fair play (FFP) regulations that play a part.

When Mbappe decided to extend his contract, the club was understandably thrilled because it meant not only keeping their most valuable player but also having a stronger negotiation position should he decide not to do so. Even so, if at all possible, PSG will want to keep him from leaving for free after the upcoming season. 

Following Bayern's elimination from the Champions League last month, negotiations concerning Mbappe's future were planned, and it is anticipated that there would be additional discussions towards the end of the current campaign.

Those on his side claim that no choice has been made yet and that there is hesitation about making the incorrect selection.

Of course, Mbappe has a lot to think about outside just where he might play next.

It was clear as he extended his contract that he was regarded as a national treasure in France. During last year's negotiations, Emmanuel Macron, the country's current president, and Nicolas Sarkozy, who served in that capacity from 2007 to 2012, both spoke with him. We spoke a lot, Mbappe said to French television station TF1. "They (Sarkozy and Macron) strongly recommended that I remain in my nation and continue to shape the history of my club," he said.

As it turned out, losing Mbappe would have prevented the club's Qatari ownership from hosting a "PSG" final, with Mbappe and Messi the stars of the show for France and Argentina, respectively. Last year, there was also added attention to the impending World Cup in Qatar.

Being able to continue having their most famous athlete live in their capital city would surely be enticing given that France as a country is currently concentrating on the preparations for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The goal for Mbappe will be to maintain the spotlight on his talents and future on the pitch. That's not always simple in Paris, as this past week has demonstrated.