The Cat-and-Mouse Saga: Mbappé, PSG, and the Great Escape
7 October 2025
Background
The ongoing cat-and-mouse game pits Kylian Mbappé, the France captain and Real Madrid’s star, against his former club Paris Saint-Germain and its boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
Escalation and Turning Points
Things turned public in the summer of 2023 when Al-Khelaifi froze Mbappé by keeping him off friendlies during the Asian leg in Japan and South Korea, and he stated at the press conference to unveil coach Louis Enrique 'either renew or sell'.
Yet Louis Enrique, the team’s coach, stepped in to ease the crisis and persuaded Al-Khelaifi to release Mbappé gradually, hoping to change the player's mind, while Enrique himself craved stability after only a few weeks in charge, while Mbappé stood firm.
Indeed Mbappé returned to the pitch, shone brightly, and posted his best scoring run since arriving at the Parc des Princes in 2017 from Monaco for 180 million euros, becoming the most expensive French player in football history.
Mutual goals.
In February 2024 Mbappé and his family—his mother Faiza Al-Amari who runs his affairs and his father Wilfried Mbappé—delivered a fresh jab at Al-Khelaifi by officially informing PSG that he would not honor a contract extension through 2025 and would leave at the end of his deal on June 30, 2024.
Here Mbappé advanced with two goals against the PSG president, prompting him to break the star's pride again, and he agreed with Enrique to stop relying on him as a starter, sometimes leaving him out or using him only as a substitute.
Enrique spoke plainly: Mbappé is the best player in his position in the world, and among the best players of this era, but we must get used to playing without him.
PSG kept winning early in Enrique’s first season, collecting the domestic treble of league, French Cup, and French Super Cup, while they bowed out of Europe after a semifinal with Borussia Dortmund.
But none of this persuaded Mbappé, who announced his move to Real Madrid in early May 2024, fulfilling his greatest dream.
Al-Khelaifi and his legal team stood by their stance, arguing that docking Mbappé's wages for breaking a soft agreement would prevent him from leaving for free, so the club would not waste its investment.
Mbappé's side escalated the matter to French players' union, federation, league, and labor court, while PSG insisted on its view.
Legal battle
The legal wrangle stretched through last season without a final verdict, but Al-Khelaifi won the on-field duel, and PSG added Europe's top prize, the Champions League, for the first time in club history, along with the UEFA Super Cup.
At the same time Mbappé endured a tough debut season with Real Madrid, failing to enjoy his usual scoring pace as Madrid collected all three domestic titles, while the great Parisian side dominated Europe on their own path, beating Inter Milan 5-0 in the final.
First direct clash
In their first direct clash, Al-Khelaifi carried his head high in front of Mbappé after PSG thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 in the Club World Cup semifinal.
Summer 2024 saw Al-Khelaifi extend his war to Mbappé's younger brother Ethan Mbappé, with the club deciding not to give him a contract and letting the teenager move to Lille on a free transfer, paying the price for the elder brother's stubbornness.
But Ethan was the hero of the second clash, scoring the equaliser against PSG in the top-of-the-table clash last Sunday, while Mbappé and his father celebrated in the stands in a way that seemed to poke the PSG president.
Punchline time, because even football drama needs a laugh: If Mbappé can outrun a transfer saga, I can outrun my Wi‑Fi signal. Also, PSG’s transfer policy: more twists than a soap opera, with fewer commercials.
