Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé (24) is poised to be called up by France’s Olympic football team manager Sylvain Ripoll, according to a feature this Wednesday from L’Équipe.
One year from now, the 2024 Paris Olympic Summer Games will kick off with the opening ceremony set to be held not in the Stade de France, but along the Seine. As a Paris-born athlete, Mbappé has always claimed it was a childhood dream of his to take part in the Olympics set in his home town. The French publication understands that Ripoll, as well as the French FA, would welcome Mbappé with open arms.
Squad registration rules for the Olympic football tournament state that anyone under the age of 23 can be selected but that, additionally, each nation can then call-up up to three players aged 23 or above. In this regard, Mbappé would like to emulate his PSG teammate Neymar. At 24, the Brazilian maverick struck Olympic gold with his Brazilian teammates at home during the 2016 Rio Games.
However, Mbappé’s contractual stand-off with PSG might hinder his dream of making it to the Paris Olympics. Indeed, it is not yet known which club Mbappé would be playing for when his current contract with PSG expires on June 30th 2024 and it remains to be seen whether this future club would allow him to miss a big chunk of pre-season. Mbappé’s 2024 summer is also set to include a spot in Didier Deschamps’ squad for the European Championships. L’Équipe understand that Mbappé would seek guarantees from his club to be allowed to play in the Olympic tournament next year. The French publication understands that Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and Manchester United centre-back Raphaël Varane are tipped to join Mbappé as the two other overage players in France’s Olympic football squad.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval