Kylian Mbappé denies signing PSG deal to gain power over club decisions

Kylian Mbappé has denied that his new three-year PSG contract gives him the power to influence transfers, sack the club’s manager and appoint his sporting director of choice, insisting he “will not go above the role of a footballer”.

It had been suggested that the 23-year-old’s dramatic last-minute decision to reject Real Madrid and stay at PSG had been swayed not only by the vast finances on offer in Paris – thought to include a salary of £20m after tax and a signing bonus in excess of £100m – but also the lure of more control within the club. This is particularly relevant with the imminent exit of manager, Mauricio Pochettino, and sporting director, Leanardo, with Luís Campos, who enjoyed a good relationship with Mbappé at Monaco until 2016, one of the frontrunners to replace the Brazilian.

“Honestly, I don’t know [Campos], but yes, there could be new players arriving,” confirmed PSG president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, on Monday, who also dismissed complaints made by La Liga president, Javier Tebas, that the money behind Mbappé’s new contract was scandalous and an insult to football. “There are other clubs in your country that could pay more,” remarkedAl-Khelaifi in a barbed comment to the Spanish press at the Parc des Princes press conference.

Mbappé, meanwhile, stressed that the decision to stay at PSG was, most importantly, a sporting one. “Everybody knows I wanted to leave last year,” said the striker. “I was convinced that was the best decision at the time. The context is different now, in sporting terms and personal terms. France is the country where I grew up, I’ve always lived here and leaving wasn’t right. The sporting project has changed as well, that made me want to stay, I don’t think my story is over yet.”

Befo