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Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has declared that Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are going nowhere despite the constant speculation surrounding their future, with the superstars being backed to stay at Parc des Princes “forever”.
Brazil and France international strikers are yet to plan to fresh terms and can see their respective contracts expire within the summer of 2022. Moves elsewhere are being mooted, amid talk about interest from the likes of Liverpool and Real Madrid, but positive progress continues to be made by PSG – with Barcelona knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage this season – and Al-Khelaifi is feeling bullish.
The PSG president has told RMC Sport: “Mbappe and Neymar are Parisians and they will stay in Paris forever.”
Two iconic figures within the global game have continued to play their cards on the brink of their chest when it involves future plans. Neymar is taken into account to be the closest to agreeing an extended stay within the Paris , with a deal on the table there, but no official announcement has been made so far. Mbappe has also sought to steer around questions regarding his intentions, but there are calls from prominent figures at PSG for decisions to be made quickly in order that long-term plans are often put on hold.
For now, the Ligue 1 title holders are revelling within the incontrovertible fact that they need dumped La Liga giants Barca out of Europe. A 4-1 win at Camp Nou laid the groundwork for that success, with Mbappe netting a shocking hat-trick in Catalunya.
Ronald Koeman’s side fought back in Paris, as they sought a repeat of their remarkable turnaround against an equivalent opponents from 2017, but variety of missed opportunities meant that a 1-1 draw was nowhere near enough for them.
Al-Khelaifi said: “It is a great honour to be in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. I have already forgotten what happened four years ago. It will remain in history, but we’ve played and that we have knocked out an excellent Barcelona team. We are within the last eight.”