Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo has promised every effort is being made to persuade Kylian Mbappe to sign a new contract.
Mbappe, whose 14 Ligue 1 goals this term make him the Parisians' top scorer, has been strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid when his current deal ends in June.
Madrid have made no secret of their interest, with LaLiga president Javier Tebas recently stating his confidence that the French World Cup winner would move to Spain.
However, recent speculation has focused on whether Mbappe could yet be convinced to remain in the French capital, and he scored a superb solo goal against Madrid last month to put PSG ahead in the two-leg Champions League tie against his would-be suitors.
Speaking to L'Equipe, Leonardo said PSG would "try everything" to keep the 23-year-old, claiming money was not the key factor in negotiations.
"We have a possibility [to keep Mbappe]," former Brazil star Leonardo said. "As long as there is no signature [with another club], we will try everything, we will do everything possible to retain him.
"We did not send a specific offer. There is an important element: I think the last thing we will put into this contract will be the amount of money. It's not about that. We want to put him in the best condition so that he becomes the best player possible."
Mbappe netted twice in PSG's 3-1 win over Saint-Etienne last time out to move level with Zlatan Ibrahimovic's tally of 156 goals for the club, placing him joint-second in the Parisian giants' all-time goalscoring charts behind Edinson Cavani, who scored 200 times for the club.
Mbappe is also the only player in the French top flight to have hit double figures for both goals and assists this season, and Leonardo says that means he has now joined team-mate Lionel Messi among the finest players on the planet.
"Kylian is the best player in the world today," Leonardo said. "Messi has always been at this level, and for me he still is, but it's normal that others arrive.
"It's not a case of judging who is best. One is 23 years old, and the other is 34."
Mbappe's tally of 10 league assists this campaign places him level with Messi as French football's most creative forces, and the duo have helped the champions-elect on a run that has included just one loss in their last 17 Ligue 1 outings.
Messi to lead Argentina in Copa America, Dybala left out of squad
Argentina are aiming to defend their Copa America title as Lionel Scaloni names a 29-man provisional squad ahead of the tournament.
Lionel Messi will once again captain the side, with Scaloni also choosing the experienced Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi in the squad.
Enzo Fernandez is called up, despite missing the end of Chelsea's Premier League season due to having groin surgery in April. Lisandro Martinez is also recalled despite only recently returning from injury.
A surprise omission to the squad is Roma’s Paulo Dybala, who has scored 16 goals across all competitions this season and earned three player of the month awards in an impressive season.
However, the forward could not force his way back into the squad after being limited to just two substitute appearances for Argentina in 2023.
Scaloni will have to narrow his squad down to 26 men, meaning three will drop out of the squad by June 12 before their Copa America opener against Canada on June 20.
Before the tournament, Argentina will play friendlies against Ecuador and Guatemala.
Argentina squad
Goalkeepers: Franco Armani (River Plate), Geronimo Rulli (Ajax), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Nottingham Forest), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Lucas M. Quarta (Fiorentina), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Valentin Barco (Brighton
Midfielders: Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Leandro Paredes (Roma), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham)
Forwards: Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Valentin Carboni (Monza), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)
Leverkusen star Wirtz named Bundesliga Player of the Year
Florian Wirtz played a starring role for Bayer Leverkusen this season and has been named the Bundesliga Player of the Year.
Wirtz scored 11 goals and provided a further 11 assists on the way to helping Leverkusen win their first-ever top-flight title.
The forward was pivotal in Leverkusen’s title charge as they became the first German team to complete an unbeaten season.
Only Victor Boniface has scored more goals than Wirtz this campaign, netting 14 times, while his tally of 11 assists is second only to Alejandro Grimaldo (13) across the Bundesliga.
Wirtz came off the bench to score a hat-trick in Leverkusen’s 5-0 win over Werder Bremen in April which clinched the title with five games remaining.
The Bundesliga champions still have the German Cup final on Saturday against Kaiserslautern, which follows the Europa League final against Atalanta on Wednesday.
Wirtz played a critical role in helping Leverkusen reach their third European final, having been involved in eight goals in the Europa League this season (four goals, four assists), the most of any player in the team.
He has also created 28 chances from open play in the competition, a tally only five players can better in a Europa League campaign, most recently Amin Younes for Ajax in 2016-17 (30).
In all competitions, Leverkusen’s unbeaten run stretches to 51 matches, as they aim to finish an unbeaten season with a treble.
Kane injury doubt for England Euro 2024 squad
Harry Kane may be a doubt for England’s Euro 2024 squad as he continues to struggle with a back problem.
Gareth Southgate is due to name his preliminary squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday, ahead of upcoming friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland.
The England captain missed the final two Bundesliga games of the season after going off towards the end of Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid.
Thomas Tuchel confirmed prior to their final match against Hoffenheim that Kane was back in England to undergo treatment.
When later asked again about the nature of the striker’s injury, Tuchel admitted that Kane had been struggling for a couple of weeks.
"In Madrid, it was borderline. We tried injections and treatments. The back has completely closed.
"It has gotten worse and kept breaking out in small, everyday movements. There's no chance he's even training."
Kane scored 36 league goals in his debut campaign for Bayern, though due to the injury, he finished five adrift of Robert Lewandowski’s single-season goal record of 41, set in 2019-20.
The final announcement of Southgate's 26-man squad will be revealed on June 7, ahead of the tournament opener against Serbia on June 16.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
