Paris Saint-Germain criticised by union for excluding Kylian Mbappe amid Real Madrid exit rumours

Paris Saint-Germain have been accused of “moral harassment” after Kylian Mbappe was left out of the club's pre-season tour to Japan and South Korea as speculation over his future rumbles on.

The French Footballers Union has come to the forward’s aid and said it could take legal action over PSG’s treatment of the player.

Mbappe has told PSG that he will not extend his contract following its expiry in 2024, which has consequently fuelled rumours linking the 24-year-old with a move to Real Madrid.

PSG’s stance has since been clear - sell Mbappe this summer to recoup some of the £165.7 million they spent to sign him permanently in 2018, rather than lose him on a free next year.

But Mbappe reportedly plans to see out the remainder of his contract and leave Paris for nothing next summer.

After the France skipper was left out of the squad to travel to Asia for pre-season preparations, the French Footballer’s Union released a statement.

"These players must enjoy the same working conditions as the rest of the professional workforce," it read, per BBC Sport.

"The UNFP feels it would be useful to remind managers that putting pressure on an employee - via the deterioration of their working conditions, for example - to force them to leave or accept what the employer wants constitutes moral harassment, which French law firmly condemns.

"The UNFP reserves the right to take civil and criminal action against any club that behaves in this way."

Mbappe has scored 212 goals in 260 games for PSG - becoming the club’s leading goalscorer - and has won or shared the past five Ligue 1 Golden Boots.

He played an integral role in France’s 2018 World Cup triumph and scored a hat-trick in the 2022 final in Qatar when France lost to Argentina on penalties.

Mbappe surprised everyone when he put pen to paper on a new two-year deal at PSG in 2022, when it had been expected he would join Real Madrid.

Since he decided he will not sign a new deal this year, PSG do not want him to be part of the playing squad, with chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi saying it is “impossible” for him to leave for free.

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