Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique is preparing for the usual intensity in his side’s game against Lyon despite both teams’ below-par starts to the season.
PSG finally got up and running with victory over Lens, following draws with Lorient and Toulouse. On Sunday, they visit a winless Lyon side who are kept off the bottom of Ligue 1 only by Clermont.
“We have prepared for tomorrow’s game in the same way as every game at Paris St Germain – with a serious approach, with professionalism,” Enrique said at a pre-match press conference broadcast on the club’s website.
“Lyon are a big historic club. They are one of best sides in this league and have very good players, a very good coach who I know well and played with at Barcelona, Laurent Blanc.
“It will be a tough game at a fantastic stadium with a brilliant atmosphere, the kind we like to play in. It will certainly be a difficult game. We have prepared as well as we can to try to get the three points.”
Deadline-day signing Randal Kolo Muani is still recovering from an ankle injury, but fellow newcomer Bradley Barcola will be in the squad against his former club.
Enrique said of Barcola: “He is good at dribbling down the wing and he can play as a number nine inside. We really like him and he strengthens the squad for the future as well. I think it is a great signing.”
The pair’s arrivals will increase the competition for places up front, but asked if that could push another recent recruit in Goncalo Ramos to the bench, Enrique played down any concern.
“I didn’t know Goncalo Ramos was going to be a substitute,” he said.
“I want 20 starters, not 11, 12, or 13. If we have 22 starters we are ready for any competition. That is the aim.
“There are very few substitutes here.”
Presnel Kimpembe, Lee Kang-in and left-back Nuno Mendes remain sidelined for Sunday’s game.
Lyon are without Alexandre Lacazette and Dejan Lovren, but could welcome back goalkeeper Anthony Lopes, who has trained with the squad for the first time since a pre-season facial injury.
Lopes’ return would be a boost to a defence which conceded four goals in Lyon’s previous home game against Montpellier.
Lyon manager Blanc said: “He is recovering very well. There will certainly be a discussion with the medical staff to make a decision. It’s good news to see him training with us.
“This game against Paris can help us to launch our season. Hosting Paris is not necessarily ideal to relaunch yourself, but maybe it can be the chance to erase the bad things that happened against Montpellier.
“Paris played a great match against Lens. They are a team with a lot of very good individuals.
“Anything is possible, but regardless of the system, it is PSG we are up against.”
Paris St Germain have signed Randal Kolo Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt on a five-year contract.
The deal has reportedly cost PSG 90 million euros to bring the 24-year-old France forward back to his native Paris.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said: “We are delighted to welcome Randal Kolo Muani — a proud Parisien and Frenchman – to Paris Saint-Germain; to his city and his home.
“We have worked incredibly hard to get this transfer over the line.
“Randal is a fantastic French international player and is committed to PSG and our project. I’m so excited to see Randal in a PSG jersey, giving everything for the club.”
Kolo Muani began his career at Nantes before moving to Eintracht, where he scored 26 goals in 50 appearances last season.
Luis Enrique said Kylian Mbappe is in a good state of mind to return to his Paris Saint Germain side ahead of Saturday’s Ligue 1 meeting with Toulouse.
The striker was absent from the squad for the opening-weekend goalless draw with Lorient following a tumultuous summer in which a dispute over his future left him training separately from the first team.
The 23-year-old has only a year to run on his current contract and has stated his reluctance to sign renewed terms, but has been brought back into the fold and is in line play on Saturday.
The manager said he is happy to have a player of the World Cup-winner’s ability available as he looks to win the title in his first season in charge.
“I am very happy to have a world-class player like Kylian,” said Enrique. “He is in great shape, he has a lot of desire, a very good state of mind.”
It will be PSG’s first game in Ligue 1 since world-record signing Neymar departed to sign for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.
Enrique managed the Brazilian during the time together at Barcelona, winning the Champions League in 2015, but the 31-year-old had recently made clear his desire to leave the club he joined for £190million in 2017.
He made 173 appearances for PSG after signing from Barcelona in 2017, helping the club win 13 trophies, including five Ligue 1 titles, as well as reaching the final of the Champions League in 2020.
The manager said that despite Mbappe’s return there would still be attacking reinforcements required following Neymar’s departure.
“He is a world-class player and I wish him well for the future,” said Enrique.
“We still need to strengthen (in attack) because it is the where we had the fewest recruits. We still have work to do on how they complement each other.”
The former Barca manager, who replaced Christophe Galtier as manager of the Ligue 1 champions in July, said he is yet to select a new team captain and yet may yet allow his squad to pick whom they wish to lead them this season.
“There are four captains (in the squad) – that something that is defined by the players, not by the coach. I want him (who the players choose) to be their captain, not my captain.”
The club was boosted by the news on Friday that goalkeeper Sergio Rico has been discharged from the hospital, three months after he sustained a head injury following an accident with a loose horse.
Neymar is the latest star name to take his talents to the Saudi Arabian Pro League after completing a move to Al Hilal.
The 31-year-old has joined from Paris St Germain in a deal that could go up to 100 million euros (£86.3m).
The Brazil forward add to the list of stars of world football to turn his back on a major European club, following the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez, Ruben Neves, Sadio Mane and N’Golo Kante to the Middle East.
The move ends a six-year stay at PSG, who he joined from Barcelona for a world-record £200m fee in 2017.
He leaves the Parc Des Princes having scored 118 goals in 173 matches and won five Ligue 1 titles.
Neymar was left out of Luis Enrique’s squad for the opening league game of the season and did not feature in the Spaniard’s plans.
PSG chief executive Nasser Al-Khelaifi told the club’s official website: “It is always difficult to say goodbye to an amazing player like Neymar, one of the best players in the world
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“I will never forget the day he arrived at Paris St Germain, and what he has contributed to our club and our project over the last six years. We had a great moment and Neymar will always be a big part of our history.
“I would like to thank Neymar and his family. We wish Neymar all the very best for the future and his next adventure.”
Neymar joins former Wolves captain Neves and ex-Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly at Al Hilal.
Neymar’s move to Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal is set to be completed in the next 48 hours, the PA news agency understands.
Sources close to Paris St Germain say the club are set to receive up to 100 million euros (£86.3m) from Al Hilal for the 31-year-old Brazilian as they rebuild their squad around younger, up-and-coming players.
The deal has been sanctioned by PSG because Spanish coach Luis Enrique was open to letting Neymar leave. Selling Neymar would also shift his 25m euro annual wage off the club’s books, with his existing contract due to run until the summer of 2025.
News of Neymar’s imminent exit comes less than 24 hours after the club confirmed striker Kylian Mbappe had been reinstated to first-team training.
Mbappe is understood to have indicated his commitment to the club, who have offered him a contract with a “guaranteed sale” clause in it allowing him to seal a move to Real Madrid next summer for a fee.
The club had been convinced Mbappe was preparing to let his current deal run out, which would have allowed him to leave Paris and join Real on a free transfer next year.
The club acted by omitting the player from the pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea and forcing him to train away from the main first-team group, until the thaw in relations confirmed on Sunday.
They had also granted Mbappe permission to talk to Al Hilal after receiving a world record £259m bid for the player in July, but it was reported the 24-year-old refused to even meet with a delegation from the Saudi club.
The imminent exit for big money of Neymar and the news on Mbappe marks a major and positive turnaround for PSG.
The French champions are consciously moving away from what their president Nasser Al Khelaifi has called their “bling bling” era, with Argentina playmaker Lionel Messi also exiting the club earlier this summer.
Neymar’s signing for a world record £200m fee in 2017 arguably marked the start of that era, but the club’s incomings this summer indicate a difference in approach, with the likes of 22-year-old Portugal striker Goncalo Ramos changing the profile of the team.
Kylian Mbappe has been reintegrated back into Paris St Germain’s first-team squad following “very constructive and positive discussions” between the club and their star asset.
The France captain’s future has been the subject of intense speculation all summer amid his preference of a move to Real Madrid and he was recently barred from senior training amid a fraught stand-off.
He watched on from the stands as PSG began their Ligue 1 title defence in underwhelming fashion with a goalless draw against Lorient on Saturday, with Neymar another conspicuous absentee from the matchday squad.
But PSG confirmed on Sunday Mbappe had returned to first-team training, amid links the 24-year-old forward is ready to extend his contract with the club beyond next summer.
PSG said in a statement on their social channels: “Following very constructive and positive discussions between Paris St Germain and Kylian Mbappe before the PSG-Lorient game, the player has been reinstated into the first-team training squad this morning.”
Mbappe, who had been given permission to speak to Al Hilal after the Saudi Pro League club tabled a world-record bid of £259million last month, has just one year left to run on his existing PSG deal.
He has so far refused any extension and would be able to negotiate a free transfer in January but it has been reported he will commit to PSG until 2025, allowing the club to sell him to Real next summer.
The 2018 World Cup winner, who is PSG’s all-time leading scorer with 212 goals in just 260 appearances, could come into the reckoning for head coach Luis Enrique next weekend at Toulouse.
Enrique had said ahead of the Lorient fixture he was optimistic that the impasse between PSG and Mbappe would be swiftly resolved.
“It is something that has already happened in the past and there was a positive solution before I was here,” he said in his pre-match press conference.
“I hope and wish that, just like in the past, the same thing will happen again and that the club and the player will reach an agreement.”
Paris St Germain are ready to integrate Kylian Mbappe back into the first-team squad, according to reports.
The France captain’s future in the capital city has seemed uncertain following links with a move to Real Madrid and reports earlier this week that he was frozen out of senior training.
Mbappe was told to stay away after he refused to activate an option to extend his current contract to 2025, meaning the superstar would be free to negotiate a free transfer to foreign clubs in January.
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He was not involved as PSG began their Ligue 1 campaign in underwhelming fashion with a goalless draw against Lorient, with Neymar also not included in the matchday squad.
But before the game Mbappe and the club are reported to have held positive talks that will see the 24-year-old return to Luis Enrique’s squad.
A club statement on Sunday, reported by French newspaper L’Equipe, read: “After very constructive and positive discussions between Paris St Germain and Kylian Mbappe before the PSG-Lorient match, the player was reinstated in the first training team this morning.”
Boss Enrique had said before the game that he was confident of a positive outcome.
“It is something that has already happened in the past and there was a positive solution before I was here,” he said in his pre-match press conference.
“I hope and wish that, just like in the past, the same thing will happen again and that the club and the player will reach an agreement.”
Paris St Germain have confirmed the signing of Ousmane Dembele on a five-year deal.
The forward joins from Barcelona, who said the fee was 50.4million euros (£43.5m).
Since his arrival from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 for a fee reportedly worth up to £135.5m, Dembele made 185 appearances and scored 40 goals for the LaLiga giants.
Dembele’s time at Barcelona also saw him win three Spanish league titles, two Spanish Cups and two Spanish Supercups.
The 26-year-old has been capped 37 times for France and featured at last year’s World Cup in Qatar, where Les Bleus finished as runners-up.
Dembele told the club website: “I’m delighted to be joining Paris St Germain and can’t wait to play for my new club. I hope I can continue to grow here and make all the club’s fans proud.”
Paris St Germain manager Luis Enrique is hopeful a solution can be found to the club’s ongoing contract dispute with forward Kylian Mbappe.
The France captain’s future is facing uncertainty following links with a move to Real Madrid and reports earlier this week that he has been frozen out of first-team training.
A decision not to sell Mbappe this summer could result in PSG losing him for nothing next year but when asked about his future, Enrique stressed that the club is “bigger” than anyone else.
“It is something that has already happened in the past and there was a positive solution before I was here,” the PSG boss told a press conference.
“I hope and wish that, just like in the past, the same thing will happen again and that the club and the player will reach an agreement.
“That is what I would like. The club’s philosophy is very clear, the club is bigger than any players, any coaches, and that is something I fully agree with.”
Mbappe is not the only player linked with a move away from the Parc des Princes with reports suggesting Marco Verratti and Neymar may also be looking to leave.
According to reports in France earlier in the week, Brazil forward Neymar has indicated he wants to leave the club – but Enrique remained tight-lipped about the futures of those players.
“With regards to the players you mentioned, Marco Verratti and Neymar, conversations with the players are private,” he added.
“I will not talk about what they have said, what I have said, I don’t think that is professional, I prefer to keep that internal.
“Of course my words say something but my actions say more and the actions that I take will show my ideas.”
PSG have been linked with Ousmane Dembele throughout the transfer window and Enrique hinted that a deal for the Barcelona forward is close.
He said: “Ousmane Dembele isn’t a PSG player today, I don’t know what exactly the situation is but he is not a PSG player yet.
“He is 99 per cent but not 100 per cent, he won’t be in the squad tomorrow of course.”
PSG’s Ligue 1 title defence begins on Saturday with a home fixture against Lorient, who beat them 3-1 in the league in April.
This will be Enrique’s first match in charge of the team since replacing Christophe Galtier at the start of July and he is looking forward to getting started with the club.
Enrique said: “I’m very happy to be playing this first home match, and I hope we win and that there’s a good atmosphere so that we can all have a good time together.
“Since I arrived, I’ve been put in the best possible conditions, now I’m trying to build a team and I’m motivated to do that.”
Kylian Mbappe will be barred from training with Paris St Germain’s main first-team group as his contract dispute with the club continues, the PA news agency understands.
PSG return to their training base on Monday following their pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea, but Mbappe will be part of the so-called ‘loft’ training group rather than the first team as his stand-off with the club drags on.
PSG sources remain convinced the player, who is out of contract next summer, has already agreed a free transfer deal with Real Madrid.
Mbappe’s management are understood to have refused to engage with an offer from the club to sign a new contract containing a guaranteed sale clause, which would allow him to join another club for a fee next summer.
From PSG’s perspective, there is no reason why he would turn down the offer, because it gives him the opportunity to leave when he wants and join the club he wants.
PSG had given Al Hilal permission to speak to the player after they tabled a world record bid of £259million last month, but Mbappe reportedly refused to even meet with delegates from the Saudi club who had flown to Paris.
Chelsea and Barcelona are understood to be two of the clubs trying to work out a player-plus-cash deal for Mbappe, who was part of France’s World Cup-winning squad in 2018 and also one of the stars of the last tournament in Qatar.
PSG kick off their 2023/24 Ligue 1 campaign at home to Lorient on Saturday.
Kylian Mbappe and his representatives refused to meet with Al Hilal officials in Paris on Wednesday to discuss a possible world-record transfer to Saudi Arabia, it has been reported.
Mbappe’s club Paris St Germain are understood to have given the Saudi Pro League side permission to speak with the France striker over personal terms after receiving a £259million bid for the player in writing.
An Al Hilal delegation was reported to have been hoping to sell their project to Mbappe in Paris while finalising the signing of Brazil striker Malcom from Zenit St Petersburg.
But, according to French sports newspaper L’Equipe, Mbappe and his team have refused to enter into any discussions with the Saudi club and he has never considered the option.
Mbappe’s PSG future has been in serious doubt since it emerged in June that he would not extend his existing deal through to 2025, meaning he would become a free agent next summer and be able to discuss a pre-contract agreement with another club as early as January.
PSG have not confirmed the reports that Mbappe has snubbed Al Hilal’s approach, but are understood to be convinced that Mbappe has already agreed a free transfer to Real Madrid next summer.
Parisian sources have said the 24-year-old would benefit from a 160m euro (£138m) signing-on fee if he wound down his existing contract and moved to the Spanish capital in 2024.
Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal have submitted a world record 300 million euro (£259m) bid for Paris St Germain forward Kylian Mbappe, the PA news agency understands.
Mbappe’s future in Paris is in serious doubt after the 24-year-old was left out of the club’s pre-season tour of Japan.
PA understands Al Hilal have submitted a bid in writing for the player, who is out of contract next summer.
Sources close to the French club say there has also been interest in the player from other clubs in recent days, including Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Inter Milan and Barcelona.
The current world record transfer fee was paid by PSG, when they signed Neymar from Barcelona for a deal reported at the time as £200m.
Kylian Mbappe must head to either LaLiga or the Premier League if he wishes to compete at the top level, believes ex-Barcelona forward Hristo Stoichkov.
The Paris Saint-Germain superstar is the subject of another visible public struggle over his future with the Ligue 1 champions amid a contract stand-off.
Having turned down joining Real Madrid last year in favour of a new two-year deal at Parc des Princes, the World Cup-winning forward is now refusing to sign an extension.
That has led to the 24-year-old being dropped for his side's pre-season tour of Asia, and Stoichkov believes Mbappe must force the move abroad if he is to truly challenge himself.
"He is a great player," he told Stats Perform. "We have spoken off camera and he has told me that his greater dream is to win the Ballon d'Or. It is difficult to reach his level and even more so to stay at that level.
"Perhaps PSG opted for him, for [Lionel] Messi, for Neymar, for Sergio Ramos and for [Gianluigi] Donnarumma to have a competitive team and be able to win the Champions League, but it couldn't be.
"If Mbappe wants to compete big, he has to go to the Spanish league or the Premier [League]. In England, there are teams that can sign him, [like] Manchester City, Liverpool or Arsenal.
"But he has to choose the path where he feels most comfortable because it won't be easy. He will have a lot more pressure and with the press on him.
"Kylian is a great guy and very humble. Some say that he is arrogant, but he is not. He is very well off, and he knows very well what he wants to do.
"Hopefully sooner or later Kylian will have the opportunity to lift the Ballon d'Or because he deserves it."
Following a decade-and-a-half dominated by the powers of Mbappe's former team-mate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the illustrious duo's departure from Europe has effectively ended a sporting era.
Stoichkov believes Mbappe sits near the summit of a new group of players looking to be considered the best in the world, predicting a great rivalry with Erling Haaland and Vinicius Junior.
"Now begins another era with big names, as in mine there was Roberto Baggio, [Michael] Laudrup, me, Michel, [Emilio] Butragueno, [Jurgen] Klinsmann or [Lothar] Matthaus, many great players.
"Then this time came with two phenomena like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo where the two always fought. Now comes another with a litter of fantastic players.
"Haaland, Mbappe, Vinicius, Pedri, Gavi, other players who can get close. In the coming years, we will see a great rivalry between Haaland, Mbappe and Vinicius who are the strikers who make the big difference."
Christophe Galtier has been sacked by Paris St Germain despite leading them to a record 11th Ligue 1 title in his first season in charge.
PSG confirmed on Wednesday that they had parted company with their 56-year-old coach just weeks after Lionel Messi’s goal secured a 1-1 draw at Strasbourg and an unassailable lead at the top of the table.
A statement on the club’s official website said: “At the end of the 2022-2023 season, Paris Saint-Germain informed Christophe Galtier of its decision to terminate his contract as first-team coach.
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“The club would like to pay tribute to his professionalism and commitment, which helped the Rouge et Bleu win a historic eleventh French Championship title and a Trophee des Champions.
“The entire Paris Saint-Germain team would like to thank Christophe Galtier, as well as his assistants Thierry Oleksiak and Joao Sacramento, for their professionalism and commitment throughout the season, and wish them all the best for the rest of their careers.”
Galtier’s departure comes after 36-year-old Messi’s exit for MLS side Inter Miami, with PSG still the dominant force in France but having once again failed in their mission to win the Champions League.
The 2020 runners-up went out in the last 16 last season after a 3-0 aggregate defeat by Bayern Munich to prolong owner Qatar Sports Investments’ wait for European success.
Former Spain boss Luis Enrique and ex-Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann have been linked with the impending vacancy in recent weeks, although reports have suggested talks with the German broke down last month.
Kylian Mbappe has told Paris St Germain he will not take up a one-year contract extension, according to reports, so could be sold this summer or will be able to leave as a free agent at the end of next season.
The 24-year-old, signed from Monaco for £160million in 2018 which was a world-record fee for a teenager, continues to be linked with a move to Real Madrid.
According to reports, France World Cup winner Mbappe left the PSG hierarchy stunned by the decision which was presented in a formal letter and follows on from Lionel Messi announcing his departure to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami.
PSG now appear set to have to weigh up whether to sell Mbappe – who scored a hat-trick in France’s defeat by Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final – or see him leave the club for nothing at the end of his current deal in June 2024.
Reports in France had suggested PSG were hopeful over an extension to Mbappe’s contract.
However, Real Madrid could now step up their interest as they look to bolster the forward line after veteran Karim Benzema’s move to Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia.
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