PSG ready to activate Barcelona star's release clause to replace Mbappe

James Shearman

• Updated: 6 Jul 2023 20:16 BST
• 3 min read

Paris Saint-Germain are targeting Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele as a potential replacement for Kylian Mbappe.

Santi Aouna is reporting that the Ligue 1 champions are willing to meet Dembele's €50 million release clause.

The Frenchman has only become available for this figure this summer as his contract now expires in just a year's time.

MORE: PSG give Mbappe FINAL DEADLINE to decide future

Barca would not want to see Dembele go though, especially because they would only be due 50% of the transfer fee. The other half would go to Dembele and his representation.

PSG are said to have held an interest in the player for a long time but this recent development could see a deal go through.

The Parisian club's director, Luis Campos, had wanted to pair Dembele with his compatriot, Mbappe, but he may now be viewed a replacement.

Mbappe to leave?

PSG have made it clear that Kylian Mbappe’s position at the club remains very much up for question, despite the player indicating that he wants to play the 2023/24 season at Parc des Princes.

Mbappe is adamant that he will not sign a new deal with PSG and that he intends to leave next summer as a free agent.

The club, which previously resisted a €200 million bid for Mbappe from Real Madrid in the summer of 2021, has indicated that it is open to a sale, and Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that no team is off limits, such is their desperation to resolve the player’s future.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, he explained: “For PSG the message is very clear: Mbappe has to sign a new contract in the month of July otherwise their position is very clear, they will consider Mbappe as one of the players on the transfer market.”

Madrid have long coveted the player, who has made it clear that it is his dream to one day play at the Bernabeu, but after signing Jude Bellingham earlier this summer in a blockbuster deal, there are doubts over whether they have the finances to do a deal.

Reports in Spain suggest that they will be able to get the money together and Romano says that PSG will not veto them, despite the long-standing rivalry between the sides.