“You Are Never Bigger Than a Club”: Zlatan Ibrahimovic Tells Defiant PSG Star Kylian Mbappe

• Kylian Mbappe is prepared to let his PSG contract run down for Real Madrid switch
• His current deal expires in the summer of 2024
• The 24-year-old has been axed from PSG's pre-season tour in Japan

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has shared his views on the Kylian Mbappe-PSG contract stand-off, emphasizing that the Frenchman is not above the club.

In the summer of 2022, Mbappe surprised the world by making a U-turn and signing a lucrative contract renewal with PSG. The deal was for two years with an option to extend until 2025 after he had previously agreed to join Real Madrid.

An unexpected turn of events has unfolded as, after only a year, Mbappe decided not to activate his one-year optional clause, prompting a strong reaction from the 11-time French champions.

What has happened since then?

Mbappe's omission from PSG's pre-season tour to Japan and South Korea, set to depart on Saturday, sent a clear message that the club values only committed players on the tour.

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In response to this decision, Mbappe expressed his readiness to stay on the bench and refrain from playing for PSG until his contract expires next summer, Sky Sports reports.

This has resulted in a messy situation that has soured the relationship between the player and the club, bringing their union to the brink of collapse.

Zlatan chides Mbappe

In November, Zlatan, who spent four seasons with the Parisian club, joined the discussion and expressed his belief that the contract renewal was a misstep for the club.

"Did he make the right choice to extend his contract at PSG? No. For PSG? Yes. He put himself in a situation where he is more important than the club, but you are never bigger than a club," Ibrahimovic said, as quoted by Football Tweet.

"But when a kid becomes strong, he can easily earn money. So his parents became lawyers, agents, and coaches.

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"From one thing, they become another. And that's the problem. This is where you lose your self-discipline and who you are.

"Today, with this new generation, parents, dads, moms, whoever you want, they think they have become stars. They talk in the newspapers... But they should shut up. It's up to your son to work and have discipline.”

Mbappe makes bold PSG decision

Sports Brief also reported that PSG are believed to be on a trajectory that would see only players committed to the club for the nearest future be a part of the team. And with the future of the forward unsettled, the club recently made a decision to leave out the forward from its preseason squad tour.

Mbappe's immediate reaction to this decision is that he is ready to sit on the bench and not play at PSG until his contract runs out next summer.