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The most entertaining soap opera in all of club soccer took another turn over the weekend with news of Kylian Mbappe’s return to Paris Saint-Germain following the departure of fellow superstar Neymar.
The two global stars were part of what many expected would be the best attacking trio in the world alongside Lionel Messi.
But those hopes and expectations never came to fruition.
PSG won Ligue 1 in the 2020-21 season by a comfortable margin. But the Parisian club went crashing out of the UEFA Champions League in the round of 16 to Real Madrid.
This past season, PSG just barely pipped RC Lens to French league championship by a mere one point. In addition, the club again left the Champions League in the round of 16, this time to Bayern Munich.
What resulted was utter disaster. The club fired manager Cristophe Galtier. Messi left for Inter Miami and Major League Soccer. Mbappe refused a contract extension and wanted to be sold specifically to Real Madrid. And Neymar was left unhappy as both sides tried to find him a new home.
That final part happened over the weekend, as PSG agreed to sell the Brazilian to Saudi club Al Hilal for a reported €90M.
But nobody could have envisioned what followed.
Immediately following news of the move, Mbappe returned to training with PSG and began talks of a contract extension.
French site Footmercato then released a report claiming that Mbappe agreed to return only after Neymar was sold and replaced with fellow Frenchman Ousmane Dembele, who is a friend of the star striker.
This comes after news that Mbappe turned down a record-breaking move to the very club that then signed Neymar.
That’s next level pettiness that you just have to respect.
PSG has also strengthened its squad with several big-name additions. Only time will tell whether that’s enough to help the club advance further in the Champions League.
But if it isn’t, expect this whole saga to repeat itself a year from now.