Mbappe’s exclusion from PSG’s tour fuels speculation of Madrid move

<p>Paris Saint-Germain has left Kylian Mbappe out of their squad for a pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea, casting further doubt on the forward’s future at the French champions.</p>, <p>PSG gave no reason for the omission of France’s captain but 24-year-old Mbappe is refusing to sign a new contract.</p>, <p>His omission will fuel fresh speculation that he could leave to join Real Madrid before next season.</p>, <p>The forward declared in May that he did not want to extend his PSG contract, which expires next year, but indicated he wanted to remain at the club for a final season.</p>, <p>“I still have a year left on my contract and I am going to honour my contract,” he said.</p>, <p>That would allow him to become a free agent next summer and leave PSG for nothing, a prospect that club president Nasser al-Khelaifi said was “impossible”.</p>, <p>“We can’t let the best player in the world today leave for free,” Khelaifi said.</p>, <p>Khelaifi even gave Mbappe an ultimatum of a “maximum of two weeks” to make his decision — sign a new contract or leave this summer. That date corresponds roughly with the departure of the team for Asia on Saturday.</p>, <p>When training resumed on July 15, Khelaifi again asked the Mbappe camp to clarify the situation. But he has not received a response, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told AFP.</p>, <p>Mbappe has been taking part in the club’s pre-season preparations and played the last 30 minutes and scored as PSG entertained Le Havre in a training ground friendly on Friday.</p>, <p>Mbappe, the club’s all-time top scorer with 212 goals in 260 appearances, remains the second most expensive player in history.</p>, <p>He was still a teenager when he joined PSG on a season-long loan from Monaco in August 2017.</p>, <p>The move turned into a permanent transfer the following year in a 180-million-euro ($200 million) deal.</p>, <p>The 29-player PSG squad that flies east will include Mbappe’s younger brother, 16-year-old Ethan Mbappe, as well as Neymar, the Brazilian whose tra