Paris Saint-Germain have been urged to bench Kylian Mbappe ‘all year’ if he refuses to pen a new contract at the club.
Former France international Eric Di Meco called on the Parisian club to shift the balance of power in the negotiation process by taking a strong stance against the striker.
Mbappe is out of contract in the French capital next year and could feasibly leave the club as a free agent if no agreement is reached this summer.
The future of the superstar striker has been complicated by his contractual situation with the French club needing to decide if they will cash-in on him this summer or run the risk of allowing his contract to expire.
The 22-year-old continues to stall in talks to extend his stay at the Parc des Princes leading to fresh speculation that he intends to leave the club.
Mbappe has netted a remarkable 111 goals 127 appearances for PSG since joining for a fee of €170million - the second most expensive transfer ever behind his teammate Neymar - from Monaco, in a deal which was originally processed in 2017.
The France international has established himself as one of football’s elite players in that timeframe and is widely recognised as one of the best players in the game.
Few clubs possess the financial clout to potentially finance a deal for Mbappe, whose wage demands and transfer valuation make any deal prohibitive.
Real Madrid and Liverpool are said to be the clubs with the greatest level of interest in the striker, whose combination of skill, acceleration and directness make him a devastating striker.
The fears in Paris that Mbappe may not put pen to paper on a new deal has now led to a call from a former France international for the club to stand their corner over his future.
Di Meco told RMC Sport : "The problem in this story is that by letting him go into the last year of his contract, he is the one who holds the cards.
"What you can do when you are PSG and you are powerful is say: 'You don't want to continue [with us]? Well you can stay on the bench all year'.
"Paris has the means to do it. And by doing that, you show the guys who arrive that they cannot run the show."
Mbappe endured a torrid time at this summer’s European Championships, where he failed to find the net in each of his four outings for France.
Indeed, the striker failed with the decisive spot kick in the Round of 16 penalty shootout against Switzerland, as he saw his effort saved by opposition goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
Mbappe starred in France’s stunning World Cup triumph in 2018 but he has found this summer tougher despite forming a new partnership with the returning Karim Benzema, who is back in the international fold after a six-year exile.